There for You, Here for Me
by MistressMurder93
Summary: Time for me to mess around with the Sonic gang's social lives! Mwahahaha. Sonic and Mina are engaged, Silver and Blaze are having their first child, Tails decides to pop the question to Cream and Knuckles and Rouge won't stop arguing! Lots of pairings, a little bit inspired by Much Ado about Nothing. R&R!
1. Back in Time for Dinner

_**Might have screwed something up earlier. I'm so high on prescription medication right now, it's making it hard to write XD Anyway. Hope you like it, R&R, that sort of thing. This is set 12 years into the future, so I'll sort out who's who and how old.**_

_**Sonic: 27, engaged to Mina.**_

_**Mina: 27, engaged to Sonic.**_

_**Tails: 20, going out with Cream.**_

_**Cream: 18, going out with Tails.**_

_**Knuckles: 28, single.**_

_**Amy: 24, single.**_

_**Sonia: 27, married to Auburn, mother of Alba and Reed.**_

_**Auburn (OC): An auburn-coloured otter with a white muzzle, 29, married to Sonia, father of Alba and Reed.**_

_**Alba (OC): A white hedgehog with purple-tipped quills, 5, daughter of Sonia and Auburn.**_

_**Reed (OC): A tan otter with a white muzzle, 1, son of Sonia and Auburn.**_

_**Manic: 27, going out with Magenta.**_

_**Magenta (OC): A black mink with magenta stripes, 24, going out with Manic.**_

_**Shadow: Ageless, single.**_

_**Rouge: 28, single.**_

_**Silver: 27, married to Blaze, expecting first child.**_

_**Blaze: 26, married to Silver, expecting first child.**_

The sweet smell of freshly-baked confectionary seeped throughout the house, enticing a young white and purple hedgehog out of her bedroom and down into the kitchen where Cream the Rabbit was preparing a delectable banquet.

Alba the Hedgehog was known for causing trouble. She made up for it, of course, by being so sweet and funny, but ever since day one, Mischief was her middle name. Everyone said she took after her Uncle Sonic.

As Cream had her back turned to the doorway, decorating her much-favoured carrot cake, Alba skidded underneath the dining table, eyeing the chocolate chip cookies on the island of countertops in the middle of the room. The cheeky little hedgehog licked her lips and crept towards the countertops. Suddenly, Cream turned around. Alba flattened herself against the back of the island. She peeked cautiously around the corner and watched Cream's footsteps walk towards the island. The sound of gentle, pleasant humming and rustling indicated she was weighing more icing sugar. Alba bit her lip. She needed a distraction. Quickly, she pulled out the hairband that pony-tailed her long, white-and-purple quills and pinged it towards the other side of the room. It hit a canister of cinnamon and knocked it over. Cream's humming and rustling immediately stopped as she left the island and attended to this minor catastrophe. Seizing her chance, Alba leapt up, grabbed the side of the countertops and hoisted herself up as fast as she could. A golden batch of cookies were laid out invitingly before the little girl hedgehog, reeling her into a very possible sticky situation with their silky aroma like a fly to treacle. Unable to waste any more time her great distraction paid her, she grabbed about four in her tiny arms (ahh, they were still warm and gooey), jumped off the island and ran towards the door – SUCCESS! The cookies were HERS! She was—

"And what do you think _you're_ doing, missy?"

-She was being scooped up into her mother's arms and met with her firm but amused glare.

BUSTED!

"I knew there was someone sneaking around! Well, who else but Sonia the Hedgehog's little girl!" giggled Cream, coming towards them and smelling of cinnamon.

"Just what do you think you're doing with those cookies, little mischief?" Sonia ordered, a grin on her face.

Cookies still clutched in her arms, Alba looked innocently up at her mother and, realising she couldn't get away, grinned sheepishly and held one out for her.

"Cookie?"

Cream and Sonia fell about laughing.

"None for me, thanks," Sonia chuckled. "And how many cookies does a five-year-old hedgehog need, hmmm?"

Alba thought for a second. "A hundred and fifty thousand...hundred?"

"You can have one for now. Save a few for us," said Sonia benevolently, taking three from the little hedgehog's grasp and putting them back on the cooling rack.

"Aw, Mooomm," Alba whined, but stopped complaining once the cookie had met her mouth. "When's Daddy coming home?"

"Very soon, honey, very, very soon," answered Sonia.

"Is he coming home today?"

"Yes."

"Is he coming home this week?"

"Yes."

"Is he coming home this minute?" said the excited little hedgehog.

"I should think he is," said Sonia.

"Yay!" cheered Alba. Then, "Where has he gone?"

Sonia took a few seconds to answer. "He's gone to a special place with Uncle Sonic and Aunt Mina and everyone else to talk to Mr Eggman."

Alba wrinkled her face. "I don't like Mr Eggman!"

"No-one does, Alba!" Sonia giggled. "That's why they've all gone to make sure that he goes away for a long, long time and doesn't come back!"

"Yay!" Alba cheered again, jumping out of her mother's arms.

Cream, still giggling, finished weighing out the icing sugar as Alba scampered off to play with her little brother in the other room.

"She's such a little monkey," Sonia laughed.

Cream smiled in agreement. "Blaze still asleep?"

"Yep. Like a log. A big, furry pregnant log." Sonia glimpsed the enormous assortment of cakes, cookies, shortbreads, tarts, pies and pastries that Cream had baked for the day. "Cream, this is gorgeous!"

Cream blushed with pride. "Thank you, Sonia!"

"No, I'm serious, it all looks terrific. Hey, watch out Blaze doesn't down this entire feast single-handedly."

"What do you mean?"

Sonia scratched her ear. "Well, apparently, her newest craving has been a horrifying combination of – get this – cake and _onions_."

"Cake and _what?_"

"Cake and onions."

"Oh dear! Really?" said Cream, wrinkling her bunny nose.

"_Really_! You wanna know how I found this out?"

"Hmmm, I don't think..." began Cream.

"When Auburn and I found her going through our garbage can like a real alley cat, looking for onion peelings to cover the frozen gateau she had pulled out of her freezer!"

The pair giggled some more and proceeded to prepare the feast.

Cream's mind was mostly occupied throughout the day with her boyfriend of three years, Tails – the two-tailed fox who was crazy for mechanics and tagged around after Sonic like a lost puppy. They had been together since shortly after Cheese's funeral. While grieving the loss of her friend and pet Chao, Tails naively thought then was the best time to confess his long-standing affection for her. He thought it would make her feel better. He was sorely wrong. Nonetheless, Cream grew impressed with Tails' persistence, and after months of courting, Cream finally agreed to date him. They had been inseparable ever since.

About half an hour after the Alba-stealing-cookies incident, Cream, Sonia, Alba, Reed and Blaze were settled in the shade of a huge oak tree in the park outside Station Square. Their feast was packed away in boxes, Cream fitted some faux flowers into the bread basket, Alba tickled her baby brother while being watched by a fond Sonia and Blaze relaxed in the shadows.

"Almost time for the nick-nick!" Alba sang.

"_Pic_nic, Alba," laughed Sonia.

"Mmmm, I'm hungry!" said the little hedgehog.

"You're not the only one," smiled Blaze.

"Goochi!" squealed baby Reed. Sonia did a double-take.

"Oh, my god! Did you hear that? He said Gucci! I can't believe it – his first word!" She continued to rifle through her diaper bag, looking for the baby book. Cream and Blaze caught each others' eye.

"I'm not sure if that's technically a word, Sonia," Cream said delicately.

"Yes it is!" Sonia urged. "Gucci! Fashion? Anyone?"

"It's not even English," said Cream.

"Oh yeah? Then how come we use it?" Sonia quipped.

"Sonia, don't be upset..."

"I'm not upset, Reed just said Gucci!"

"Sonia, what's Gucci to a one-year-old?"

"A fashion designer! Oh my god, my baby's going to be a fashion designer!" She had just pulled out the baby book and a pen, then stopped, miserable realisation drawing into her eyes. "Oh my god, my baby's going to be a _fashion designer_..."

Blaze chuckled. "Gok Wan, anyone?"

Sonia turned to her son. "Reed, please don't be the next Gok Wan, honey. It's bad enough I have a two crazy brothers, I don't want my son to be constantly criticising what I'm wearing."

Reed grinned, a finger in his toothless mouth. He then pointed at his mother. "Geepa!"

Sonia smiled and kissed her son.

"I wanna kiss the baby too!" said Alba, leaping to the opportunity.

"Sorry, sweetheart," said Cream to Sonia sympathetically.

"It's okay," the purple hedgehog sighed. "I just can't wait until he starts talking."

"Well, the quicker they learn to talk, the quicker they learn to talk back," said Blaze.

Sonia shrugged and smiled. "True."

She looked at her kids. They were the most beautiful things that had ever happened to her. She sighed again and wished her husband home faster.

Suddenly, Cream leapt up.

Sure enough, up in the sky was a proud, two-tailed fox hovering in through the clouds above. Attached to his wrists was Auburn the Otter, and attached to his ankles was Knuckles. Following on tightly was second high-flyer Rouge, carrying by the wrists light pink Amy with a hot pink mink named Magenta hanging on to her ankles. Nearby, the rush of four incredibly fast road-runners rippled through the meadows.

Back home, at last. In time for dinner.

**Nhgbbhgn mkhvcv,.9lohju8ni979**

**Sorry, just fell asleep on the keyboard. Hope this story didn't have the same effect on you. Chapter 2 is almost fully prepared, but I want to know if you guys think it's worth publishing. Thank you so much for reading and happy fanfic hunting! **


	2. The Heroes' Return

_**Right. Second chapter. Whew. Despite no reviews. Feel lucky ;)**_

_**Recap: Alba nearly stole some cookies! Blaze is in the last few weeks of pregnancy, Sonia is married with two kids, Cream has just cooked up an amazing picnic for her beloved Tails and the rest of the gang for when they return from screwing Eggman in court. Uhm. Not literally. That's gross. What's the matter with you?  
**_

* * *

"Look out below!" Tails called as he came in to land. Knuckles somersaulted off and landed in a perfect one-kneed crouch on the grass, followed by Auburn.

As Rouge and co landed, there was the rushing sound of three hedgehogs coming to a halt at the edge of the pavement. Sonic, Silver and Shadow high-fived proudly and presently, Mina the Mongoose came dashing and panting alongside the trio.

"Wow! Hello mister bicep!" Tails laughed, flexing the arms that had carried both Auburn and Knuckles.

Cream flung her arms around him. "Tails!"

"Hello, beautiful," Tails beamed, squeezing her lovingly.  
_

* * *

"Daddy!" Alba squealed, running up to Auburn and hugging him round the knees.

"Hello, my little treasure!" Auburn smiled, picking her up and putting her on his shoulder. "I've missed you!"

"Did you miss me more than Reed, Dad? Didja? Didja?"

"I missed you both just as much," Auburn laughed, embracing his wife and baby son.  
_

* * *

Silver skidded over to Blaze, arms open.

"How's my princess?" he said, hugging her.

"Your princess is always in good health," Blaze returned with a smile. Then Silver flexed his torso slightly over Blaze's swollen abdomen. He knelt down.

"Hello, baby, did you miss me? Huh? Did you miss Daddy?" he cooed at the bump.

"We both did," Blaze smiled, stroking her stomach.

"Blaaaaaze!" went a sparkly voice, unalike to Amy's for its lack of sharpness to the ear. The black and hot pink mink skidded next to the heavily pregnant cat, her hazel eyes wide with joy at seeing her friend again.

"Magenta!" Blaze smiled, embracing the excitable mink. "How are you?"

"I could not be better! How are you doing here?" she sang, stroking Blaze's bump.

"Can't complain myself."

"Good!"

"Magenta was brilliant in the courtroom," Silver smiled. Magenta flushed.

"Awwh, it was nothin'! They wanted a prosecution, I gave 'em a prosecution!"

"I'd love to hear all about it," said Blaze.

"Manic sure would love to hear about it – his girl sure did him proud this weekend," Silver said kindly. Then he turned to Magenta. "How is Manic, anyway?"

Magenta's mouth went tight suddenly. Her eyes drew towards her pink leather boots and joy very momentarily left her expression. Luckily, Silver and Blaze took the hint.

"I'll ask no further," said Silver gently.

"He's fine," Magenta said hurriedly, a wide smile covering her face once more. "I think he just misses me."

"I can't say I blame him," smiled Blaze.  
_

* * *

"SOOOONIIIIIIIIIIIIIC!" No prizes for guessing who this was.

"Argh! Hey-Amy-" Sonic gasped as he received the death hug of his life.

"I missed you so much!" Amy trilled.

"Amy, we just spent an entire weekend altogether, legally busting Eggman's butt!"

"I know, but I didn't get to journey home with you!"

"Okay, okay, Amy," said a low but kind voice behind her. "Get a grip."

Sonic squirmed. "I think she's got enough grip in her already!"

Gently, the black hedgehog prized Amy away from the blue one. "Easy, doll."

"Man, Amy, willya get the hint? I'm taken!" Sonic spouted, emphasising each word as he eased his tightly-hugged muscles back into shape.

"Doesn't mean I can't still hug you!" Amy squealed.

"Shhhh..." whispered Shadow, pulling her into a hug.

Sonic thanked God for Shadow. He was the only one who could really tolerate Amy, twenty-four-seven. Meanwhile, his object of most dear affection, Mina, was still catching her breath by the park's pathway. He walked over to her.

"I can't run," Mina sighed.

"That's nuts," replied Sonic. "You almost outran me."

Mina grinned cynically. "I did not! I can barely keep up with you."

"But you did, didn'tcha?" Sonic smiled, bending his head in towards hers.

"Only because you let me," Mina argued.

"Nawh," Sonic chuckled. "If I let you, that mean's I'd be going slower, and if I were going slower, Shadow would have overtaken me, and if Shadow overtook me, well...let's not go there."

"No, let's not," Mina smiled, her forehead against Sonic's.

"You're wonderful," Sonic smiled.

The couple kissed, only to be interrupted by the small, white hedgehog known as Alba.

"UUUUUURRRRRRRHHHH!" she yelled. "Uncle Sonic and Aunt Mina were KISSING!"

"Ewww, my little brother's got a girlfriend!" Sonia joined in, scooping up her mischievous offspring.

"Fiancée, actually, sis," Sonic quipped. Mina smiled and flashed her necklace. On Mobius, it was a tradition that the fiancée wore the wedding ring on a chain around her neck until the wedding day.

"True," said Sonia.

"Can we have some of Cream's cake now?" Alba squeaked.

"Oh, you cheeky little thing!" Sonia laughed.

"C'mere, you!" Sonic laughed, taking his niece and spinning her around in the middle of the grass. Alba squealed in delight as Sonia and Mina stood by contentedly, laughing at the sight.  
_

* * *

"Beautiful day for a hero's return," Knuckles declared, drawing the fresh summer air deeply into his lungs. "The sun is shining, birds are singing, and you can almost still smell the smoke from the burning of Eggman's butt we did!"

Nearby, Rouge watched as the scarlet Echidna flaunted their success. Her wings folded slightly as her posture sharpened. It was her hobby to watch Knuckles get high and mighty and then cripple him with her wit.

"Hey, Knux!" Alba squeaked, landing her tiny fists against Knuckles' side. "How did you defeat Mr Eggman?"

Knuckles grinned and showed off his best moves to the little girl hedgehog. "I planted my fist in his side, like this." He demonstrated. "Then I got him while he was down and landed my super-clobbering fist into his other side which flung him right the way round!"

"Wow!" Alba cheered. The pair had now gained an audience as they all sat down under the oak tree. "Then what? Then what?"

"Then I pummelled the back of his head so he went flyin'!"

Alba laughed loudly, rolling on her back and kicking her little feet in the air.

"And that's how I defeated Dr Eggman for sure!" Knuckles finished in a dramatic martial-art style pose, as if waiting for applause.

Rouge clapped sarcastically. Knuckles' eyes went a little wider.

"Bravo, Knuckles, you're an idiot. Now stop foolin' the poor kid," Rouge smirked. "She's the only one gullible enough to think you're the bigshot in this game."

"And what's that supposed to mean?" Knuckles said defensively.

"Just what you think it does, darling," Rouge sneered. "You can't help it, of course, but everyone can testify you almost bawling at Eggman's fake defense."

"I am NOT gullible!" Knuckles snapped.

"Who said anything about being gullible?" Rouge said innocently. "I'm just saying anyone present in the courtroom witnessed you blubbering over Eggman's little sob story."

Knuckles ground his teeth. "I did _not_."

"Did too."

"Did NOT!"

"Did too!"

"Alright, Rouge, you wanna be a child about this, then go ahead, be a child! See if I care!" Knuckles growled as he prepared to stomp away.

"Whatever you say, Baby McTears."

Knuckles tensed immediately, his cheeks burning. He couldn't STAND that egocentric bat!

"You know, it's not like we needed _you_ over there!"

"Oh, really? Was it because you had enough of a witness team or was it because you couldn't stand losing every argument to a widdle girl?" Rouge teased.

"You should really look in a mirror before you call yourself that," Knuckles sneered.

A chorus of "oooh"s erupted from the three hedgehogs under the oak tree. Rouge's nostrils flared. The game was on!

"So what was it you said the other night, Knuckles? Just help me hone in onto your little gem of an ideology and wade through all the BS..."

"Get to the point!" Knuckles ordered.

"You're the Master Emerald's guardian and you're alone every day. Is that because you're a loner or because of your inability to interact with anything that isn't an inanimate, glowing object?"

"Better than being a jewel thief!"

"Oh yeah, lemme see – jewel thief or grumpy loner who sits on his butt all day? Jewel thief or...oh, what was the other one again?"

"I give up, Rouge. You're such a cheap shot!"

A beat.

"Cheaper than the flowers you sent me last Valentine's Day?"

Knuckles went hot and cold all over, blood rushing to his cheeks. "That was _before_ my patience with you ran out. I was just trying to be a nice guy for once! A nice guy who would treat you kindly and do the right thing for you!"

"Ohh, that is _so_ hot!" Rouge groaned sarcastically.

"Forget it! See, this is why men would happily stay away from you!"

Rouge pursed her lips for a second, then smirked once again. One thing that aggravated Knuckles so much about her was her arrogance. Rouge, however, acted like she was perfectly fine with never being close to a man. No-one to spoil her jewel-stealing ploys. She smiled satisfyingly, spread her wings and glided up into the highest canopy of the oak tree.

Knuckles turned around proudly.

"Ho-ho boy, that showed her!"

He was cut off by a mass of wide eyes and slightly agape mouths, slices of cake frozen halfway to them.

"What?" he said stiffly.

Sonic cleared his throat. "So...Rouge, 1. Knuckles, 0."

"I won that argument!"

"It was a cheap shot," Sonic grinned mischievously.

Knuckles clamped his jaw. He knew if there weren't little kids around, he would have sworn very badly.

* * *

_**So there ya go :) Also, you see the box down there? It says review. Do it. Now. Please XD**_


	3. Six Years

_**Third chapter! Yay! Okay, about the R&R thing...it's okay, I'll keep updating anyway, I guess the only thing I could ask for is someone to tell me to stfu before I get too boring. I don't really know where exactly I'm going with this story, but I've got a lot to write, I assure you :D**_

"Dad! Look! I made a cream pie!" laughed Alba as she held out a pile of bubbles from the bathtub.

"Ooommmmm, it looks good enough to eat!" Auburn responded. He was kneeling beside the bathtub, aiding his five-year-old daughter with her nightly splash. He kept a loving, fatherly smile on his face even though he was tired all over his body and couldn't wait to curl up into bed himself. Alba splashed a bit more, maybe a bit too much, until Auburn pulled her out.

"Okay, I think you're clean now," he said as he set her down and wrapped her up in a towel.

"Dad, guess what!"

"What?"

"You'll never guess!"

"What, Alba?"

"I got a wobbly tooth! Look!"

"Really? I don't believe—oh, yes you have!" said Auburn, hovering a curious forefinger over the suspected incisor.

"I fink da toof fairy i' gonna cong," said Alba.

"What?" said Auburn, withdrawing his hand.

"I think the tooth fairy is gonna come!"

Auburn picked her up. "I'm sure she will."

"Will she bring me a thousand dollars?"

"Maybe...maybe not that much, honey. Tooth fairies aren't the richest fairies in the fairy kingdom."

"What about a million?"

"I don't think so."

"Pearl Tanner from school, she said that—she said that when she lost a tooth, the tooth fairy gave her five whoooolle dollars!"

"Five whole dollars?" Auburn said in mock surprise as he dressed his daughter.

"Uh-huh! And, and, and she said she bought lots of toys!"

"Well, if I manage to talk to the tooth fairy at some point, I'll make a deal with her. Does that sound good?"

"Yeah!"

"Good. Now," he kissed his daughter on the head. "Bed, honey."

"Awwwwwh!" Alba moaned.

"You sleep well now, and have pleasant dreams," said Auburn as the five-year-old clambered into her bed. Then he remembered. "Oh! Do you want your diaper?"

Alba rolled her eyes. "I'm nearly six, Daddy."

"You're not gonna wet the bed, are you?"

"Noooo!" Alba retorted.

"Promise?"

"I promise."

"Good. Now, sweet dreams, princess. I love you."

"I love you too, Daddy."

Auburn kissed his little princess on the forehead and left the room. As soon as the door was shut, he let loose a long, heavy sigh. Having kids was hard work, and you never get a vacation.

He went downstairs to his wife who was kneeling on the floor, bleaching the kitchen tiles. _Does this woman ever sleep?_ Auburn wondered. As he approached the door, Sonia looked his way warmly.

"She in bed?"

"Yep. Reed asleep?"

"Like a baby." She set down her equipment. "Ain't they just the most beautiful things?"

"Next to you, yes," Auburn smiled, settling himself behind her. "Though I really should be relaxing right now."

"This isn't relaxing?" Sonia asked sweetly, sitting back in his embrace.

Auburn smiled. "You know what I mean."

Sonia grinned and patted his bronze-brown face. "You should get back to your art."

"Maybe you should get back with your band."

"I am," she said. "Maternity leave finishes Monday."

"Oh yeah," Auburn sighed. "I remember because that means I go back on diaper duty."

Sonia giggled, ruffling the otter's untidy dark red hair. "You're always on diaper duty, loser."

"Like I need reminding."

Sonia sighed. "We should probably get a babysitter."

There was a pause, which Auburn filled with a print on Sonia's shoulder with his lips. "Hey," he said. "Happy Anniversary."

_**Next post: Manic and Magenta – where we find out why Manic is absent and why it's a sore subject. Sorry about the OC storylines, I'm just throwing them in and I'm getting their parts out of the way first before I get on to the other main characters (e.g. Sonic, Tails, etc.). If this is boring the hell outta ya, please let me know – though I kinda hope I'm not cos I've got a lot of cool stuff planned which I WILL get down XD Eehhhh, thanks for reading, all the same :D**_

_**Peace x**_


	4. Manic's Depression

Magenta's stomach rumbled as she unlocked the door to her apartment. She didn't know why – she had just stuffed it with confectionary goods that Cream had prepared that evening. She stepped inside. The place was dark.

"Honey?" she called into the empty hallway. No answer.

Carefully, Magenta put down her keys on the sideboard and walked further into her home. There was a muffled humming noise coming from the living room. She guessed it was the TV. She slipped into the kitchen and prepared a pop tart. She ate it in silence, having faith that Manic was okay.

Once her appetite for pop tarts was satisfied, she went into the living room and found that an old rerun of _The Dogsbournes _was playing. Magenta watched half-heartedly as the Dogsbournes bantered at each other over dinner and how Doggy Dogsbourne, the father of the canine pack, was advising his son Jock about safe sex. After a minute or two, she turned the television off and retired to the bedroom. She held her breath slightly as she went in.

The door wasn't barricaded up – that was a good sign. The room looked like the wardrobe had projectile vomited over the carpet – not such a good sign. Curled up and faced away from his girlfriend in the middle of the double bed in the centre of the room, still fully clothed and slightly haggard-looking, was the bright green hedgehog himself.

Manic the Hedgehog. Living up to his name.

Magenta had a brief scan of the room for drugs and alcohol. No stench of pot – good. No needles – very good. No suspicious white powders on the dressing table – also very good. Quietly, she checked the soles of Manic's shoes that had been kicked off. The soles were still intact, which meant he wasn't carrying any suspicious substances inside them. This was relieving. The open bottle of aspirin and the empty beer bottles weren't. Magenta's stomach plummeted. She darted towards the aspirin. Thank God, it was almost full. Manic's breathing was even and deep. It was the mark of a peaceful sleep, in contrast to the chaotic scene.

Magenta prepared for bed in the en suite bathroom. By the stab of the citrus light in the small room, she had a surprisingly settled view. No sign of injury in there. Magenta had not felt comfortable about leaving Manic for the whole weekend. Something in his eyes had died – a spark that she knew so well had disappeared. The depression was returning. Ten months off the meds and the depression was coming back.

"Oh, Manic," Magenta sighed solemnly into the darkness.

She dressed in Manic's Shag Rifles t-shirt and carefully got into bed next to him. He smelled faintly of booze. As she nestled nearer to him, her side came into contact with something. She pulled out of the sheets a tape player. It made Magenta smile to think of Manic being so retro to still be using tape players. It was a Nine Inch Needles tape and the earphones were still in Manic's ears. Magenta curled up behind his sleeping form and, with a sorrowful current channelling down inside her chest, she forced herself to sleep.

Halfway through the night, Manic stirred. Magenta was aware of it immediately. She watched her most loved intently. Slowly, the green hedgehog turned in bed to face the vulnerable mink.

"Hey baby," he said quietly.

"Hey," Magenta whispered back. No point in asking if he was okay.

"Missed you," he sighed as they both sank into dreamless sleep once more.


	5. An Inconvenience

**_Chapter five already - I am on a roll! XD Well, I feel like I am anyway. Rated T for sexual themes and language. I had fun writing this one so I hope you have just as much fun reading it!_**

Mina faced the mirror, focusing intently on the style she was putting her long, lavender locks into. Suddenly, a pair of hands appeared and tickled under arms, breaking her concentration and making her hair fall back into its natural, free-flowing form.

"Asshole!" Mina squeaked, playfully throwing her hairbrush at her royal blue fiancé. Sonic just laughed and flopped down on the bed.

"What's the occasion, darlin'?" he asked peevishly.

Mina rolled her emerald eyes. "In case you forgot, wise-guy, we're going out for victory drinks with everyone."

Sonic's ear pricked. "Everyone as in...?"

"Tails, Cream, Knuckles, Shadow, Rouge and..."

"...And?"

Mina took a breath. "And Amy."

Sonic cringed and rolled up on the bed childishly. "Noooooo, not Amyyyy!"

"Sonic, don't be such a baby," Mina sighed, doing up her hair again. "She isn't anywhere as bad as she used to be."

Sonic uncurled instantly. "Maybe not, but she still hugs me. And follows me. And...pokes me."

Mina giggled. "You sound so juvenile!"

"I'm not juvie...mile?" said Sonic. It wasn't the first time Mina had used a word he was too lazy to look up. She just happened to be smarter with words than him. "Anyway. She's annoying."

"Sonic, don't worry," said Mina. "Shadow will be there too and you know what he's like with Amy."

Sonic rolled his eyes. "The ageless wonder – it's like he's an old paedophile perving up some twelve-year-old!"

Mina shot him a glare in the mirror. When Sonic saw it, he grinned a big, cheesy grin. Eventually, he cracked Mina's stern expression.

"Besides," Sonic continued. "How do I know she'll do as he says?"

"Because she's always done before and Shadow is extremely persuasive."

"He has a real way with her," Sonic observed. "I wonder if he likes her."

"Of course he likes her," said Mina. "He tolerates her well and he actually appreciates her constant optimism. It's like adding milk to the curry."

"I'm gonna pretend I know what that means," said Sonic, jumping off the bed. He went into the en suite bathroom, neglected to shut the door and began a private function while in Mina's eyeshot.

"Ew! Way to shut the door, you freak!" she laughed, leaping up and shutting the door.

"Sorry, hon, I was kinda desperate all of a sudden," Sonic called back as if it were an excuse.

Mina rolled her eyes again and proceeded to style her hair. "Put the toilet seat down when you've finished!"

After a moment, the toilet flushed and the door opened. A relieved Sonic wandered up to Mina's chair. Mina had her hair styled into a pretty bun which folded on top of her head like a rose. She was wearing a halter-neck, dark purple dress that went down to just below her knees and hugged her bust.

"You look beautiful," Sonic mused.

Mina felt herself blush. "You're a gross little hedgehog."

Sonic's lips flicked into a small, sneaky grin at the corner of his mouth.

"Gross, am I?" he teased.

"Very gross," said Mina. "Disgusting, in fact."

"Mmmm, I know," Sonic joked.

"Dirty hedgehog," said Mina. Sonic glanced her way. Her voice had become a purr. "You know," she said in a velvety voice. "We may have been away the whole weekend, but it's not like we got...a moment alone together...and we do have some time before we have to leave..."

Sonic felt himself tingle. A certain electricity Mina could hold in her voice always set him alight.

"You've just gotten dressed up," he pointed out.

"Who says I'm dressed underneath?" the yellow mongoose said seductively.

There was a moment where Sonic froze, unable to process this exceedingly erotic image. They had been celibate for about a week now. That was long enough to give Sonic a visit from the little guy downstairs at this incredibly sensual suggestion.

Suddenly, he kissed her roughly on the mouth. Mina responded immediately. Sonic's arms hoisted her up from her seat and the couple were instantly making out wildly. Sonic's hands found her hair and pulled out the pins. As it fell loose again down her back, Mina broke the kiss and eyed Sonic.

"It looks pretty just the way it is," served as Sonic's answer.

The couple began to kiss deeply. Mina pushed the eager hedgehog towards the bed and pushed him down onto the mattress. He fell with a decadent smile, staring up at his bride-to-be. Mina, with a smouldering leer on her face, clambered over his immobile shape and brought herself close to him. She leaned in close, closer, until her soft lips were parallel to his ear.

"Dirty hedgehog," she repeated. Her lips continued to caress the side of his face and head. The suspense for Sonic was almost unbearable. His entire body pulsed, on the verge of bursting.

Then there were three powerful knocks on the door.

"I'll get it!" Mina chirped, leaping off her lustful lover.

Sonic's eyes went wide. His loins yearned for attention and his insides screamed out in frustration.

"Evil woman!" Sonic growled.

Mina giggled uncontrollably, quickly slipping on a pair of black heels. "Sorry, my darling!"

"Mina, Mina, wait!" said Sonic. Mina waited. "Don't open the door yet."

"Why? Do you—_oh_," said Mina, catching on and laughing hysterically.

"It's not funny!" Sonic whined. "I'm hard as hell!"

This only made Mina laugh harder.

The loud, heavy knocks on the door repeated themselves.

"Guys, you'd better not be screwing when I get in there!" said Knuckles' voice from outside.

"Well, funny you should say that, Knuckles..." Sonic grumbled through clenched teeth.

"Just a minute!" Mina called, putting two gold rings in each ear. She then answered the door. Knuckles scowled at them both.

"I didn't agree to accommodate you guys so you could play nookie in my guest bedroom," he said sternly.

"What did you expect of two people who are getting married soon?" Sonic taunted, composed enough now to sit up properly on the bed.

"I expect anyone to at least wait until I'm not around if they're gonna bang each other at The Guardian's home," Knuckles returned.

"Whatever you say, boss," Sonic laughed. "And hey, what a badass title – The Guardian. What are you, a newspaper stand?"

Knuckles sighed and let Sonic have the last word. Mina smiled sweetly and sat down next to Sonic. "We're sorry, Knuckles, it won't happen again."

Knuckles raised his eyebrows at her and smiled. "Won't it?"

"Well, if you do, it'll be like you never knew," Mina said with an innocent grin.

Knuckles groaned and shut the door. "You guys ready?"

"Yep," said Sonic.

"Pretty much," said Mina.

"Who else is game tonight?"

"Well, Tails and Cream, Rouge and Shadow, us three and Amy."

Knuckles sniffed disdainfully at the mention of Rouge's name. "What about the others?"

"They're looking after their babies," Mina replied.

"All of them," said Sonic. "The five year old and the one year old, the unborn and the one who looks like a weirdo and is my big brother."

Mina smirked and hit Sonic playfully.

"Okay then," said Knuckles. "And why is Rouge coming?"

Both Sonic and Mina choked back on the urge to laugh.

"Why is Rouge coming? Because it was her idea to start with!" said Mina.

Knuckles ground his teeth. "Well that's just great."

"Why the sarcasm, buddy?" asked Sonic, slyly.

"None of your business, hedgehog," Knuckles replied.

"Hmmm," said Mina thoughtfully. "Is this a vengeful ex-boyfriend moment or a not-liking-Rouge-very-much-in-general moment?"

"This is a quit-talking-about-the-good-for-nothing-bat moment," Knuckles snapped.

"Hey, man, chill," said Sonic. "It's not your fault you're still crushing like God knows what on her."

"Hey, shut up!" Knuckles said defensively. "That's bullshit!"

"I beg to differ," Mina teased.

"Hey!" Knuckles argued.

"C'mon, bud, you literally wait for people to mention her so you can start a conversation about her! If you were kids in the playground, you would be yanking her pigtails and pulling her down!" Sonic bantered.

"I would not!" Knuckles yelled.

"That's okay, man, that's totally okay, just admit it. You're hot for Rouge."

"Scorchin' hot for Rouge!" contributed Mina.

Knuckles, on the other hand, was beginning to growl.

"I...am..._not_...hot...for...Rouge!" he said, spitting out the words like chewed up pellets of garbage.

Sonic stared into the echidna's violet eyes. They held their glare at each other for a few moments. Then Sonic finally broke the contact.

"Okay, he isn't," he said simply, and hopped off the bed. "Let's go, the others will be on their way right now."

"Gotcha," said Mina, grabbing the car keys. Sonic raced out, Mina following. At the door, she turned to Knuckles, smiling kindly. "You good to go, Big Spender?"

Knuckles resolved himself to being content again and following her out of the door.

"Big Spender?" said Knuckles.

"Yeah, well, you hold in your humble abode the most priceless gem in the entire world, surely you get your grub for it?"

"It's a surprisingly low-paying job," Knuckles chuckled.

"I wouldn't be too sure – that emerald is a Rouge magnet," Mina said with a gentle grin.

Knuckles eyed her, then resumed his nonchalance. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

**_TBC!_**


	6. Well, This is Unexpected

_**Chapter six is finally here! Whew! Sorry I've been absent for some time. Weekends in the summer are particularly crowded for most and most crowded for those who have been dealing with bouts of diarrhoea :/ Anyway. Without further ado, Chapter Six!  
**_

Silver didn't know whether to call it dinner or dessert – a cake filled with onions sounded alarmingly decadent. It was hard to tear his eyes away from the sight of his hugely pregnant (and usually ladylike) wife shovelling down slices of this absurd combination of food. As soon as she caught him staring, however, she shot him a wide-eyed look.

"What?" she said with a full mouth.

"Uhh...nothing..." said Silver nervously, trying – and failing – to direct his eyes back to the pregnancy book he was reading. He could hardly believe he'd much rather look at pictures of writhing, sweating, bleeding female bodies than look at his wife.

Blaze swallowed guiltily. "It's my craving, is it not?"

"No!" Silver lied. "No, no, honey, not at all."

"Yes it is," Blaze said, resuming, all of a sudden, her elegant, princess-like posture. "Well. I probably should get more acquainted with normal delicacies like actual cake and shepherd's pie."

"T-together?" Silver said, bewildered.

"Not together!" Blaze smiled. "I should probably learn to be more self-contained."

Silver put down the pregnancy book. "No, sweetheart, no. You're having a baby – you're allowed to eat weird kinds of crap."

"It unsettles you," Blaze reasoned.

"True," Silver granted her. "But not half as much as when you...well, you know."

"What?"

"Like...go into labour and all that jazz."

Blaze grinned. "That's an adventure I cannot wait for now."

She then got up, left the kitchen and went upstairs. Silver followed. In their bedroom, he found her re-packing her hospital bag. With a puzzled frown, Silver approached her cautiously.

"Uhh, Blaze?"

"Yes." It was more of a statement than a question, as most things are with Blaze.

"I, uh, I packed that for you this morning."

Blaze said nothing and resumed to take everything out, arrange it differently, and put it back in.

"Are you nesting?" asked Silver.

Blaze's ear twitched. "You have been reading the baby books."

"Well, yeah. I just wondered...you know...if you're—"

"Positively," Blaze interrupted. She said nothing more, so Silver left her to it. Once she was done, the hospital bag looked like it had just been purchased at a high-district baby store – each set of clothing folded compactly in their own category, cosmetics in one pocket, toiletries in another. Blaze sat on the bed, stroking her large, round abdomen, satisfied. Silver nodded, impressed.

"Not bad, honey," he said.

Blaze smiled with pride. Silver joined her on the bed and ran a hand over her belly.

"Two more weeks," he smiled. "Then we'll get to see you at last."

"Are you talking to the baby again?" said Blaze.

"Of course I am," Silver grinned. "He can hear me, can't he?"

"What makes you so sure it's a 'he'?"

"I dunno, what makes you so sure he _or she_ can't hear me?"

"I never said that they cannot hear you – I just find it rather comical that you're talking to my stomach."

"Yeah, your stomach – which has my baby in there."

"My baby."

"No, my baby."

"It's mine," said Blaze, a smile of triumph on her face.

"Nu-uh, mine!" Silver laughed.

Blaze placed both Silver's hands on her stomach suddenly. Inside, though constrained, there was a soft movement inside.

"I think it likes your laugh," Blaze smiled. Silver held his hands to her spherical abdomen, beaming.

"I know you do, baby," he muttered to the bump.

He was having so much fun conversing with his unborn child that he didn't notice Blaze's sudden change in expression. Her face crumpled slightly, and she got up and headed for the bathroom.

"Uh-oh," Silver murmured to himself. Then he called, "I thought the morning sickness had worn off, Blaze."

He was answered only by the lock of the bathroom door clicking into place. He went up and knocked lightly.

"Honey, are you okay?"

"I'm alright," said Blaze, though she sounded rather uncomfortable.

"Are you sure?" asked Silver.

"Silver, just go, please, please just go," Blaze said hurriedly.

"Blaze, are you okay?"

"I'm fine!" Blaze hissed irritably. Silver finally took the hint and wandered from the bathroom door. He retreated to the bedroom and sat feverishly on the bed, wondering what to do. Should he call the hospital and tell them they were on their way? Should he call the midwife and ask for details of signs of early labour? He had learned that despite having a set date, babies follow their own rules. If the baby wanted to be born tonight, it would be. The very thought of this made him squirm. Unsure what to do, he got up and dashed up and down the stairs to relieve himself of some of his nervous energy. But it was no good. As soon as he heard the toilet flush and the click of the door, he was at the top of the stairs, alert and ready for anything. Blaze staggered out, a sickened look on her face.

"The baby has decidedly tried to put knots in my bowels," she uttered with an air of humiliation.

Silver smiled sympathetically and embraced her. She hugged him back, cringing a little.

"Are you okay?" Silver whispered into her ear. No answer. Silver waited. Still no answer. "Blaze?" he said alarmingly.

He brought his wife to face him. Her face was crumpled in pain.

_Oh no_, Silver thought immediately.

"Blaze, tell me what's wrong," he urged.

Blaze took a moment to answer, struggling through the stabbing pain that was shooting through her lower stomach. "It hurts..."

That was all Silver needed. He rushed to the nearest phone and dialled the hospital.

"Silver," Blaze called. "I'm okay, honest."

Silver shot his wife a contradictory look.

"I'm positive – it just hurts a bit – it's not the baby."

"Blaze, you can never be too sure. Does it still hurt?"

Blaze's reflexive cringing spoke for itself. Silver connected to the hospital reception. A woman's voice answered.

"Trinity General Hospital – how may I help you?"

"Yeah, we need an ambulance," Silver said hurriedly, forgetting himself. "I mean, I mean, we, uh," he stammered. He cleared his throat and began again. "This is Silver the Hedgehog. Uh, Silver Darkwood the Hedgehog, yes. I'm calling on behalf of my wife, Blaze Darkwood. She's nearly due to have our first baby and I think she's started contractions."

"Silver, I'm fine!" Blaze protested.

"Shhhh!" Silver hissed back.

"Alright, Mr Darkwood, I can transfer your call to the maternity section. I trust you've called because your midwife is currently on duty?"

"What? Oh! Yeah, yes, that's right," Silver stuttered.

"What is the name of your midwife, sir?"

"Maude. Maude Jenkins the Parrot."

There was a silence as Silver's call was transferred. Meanwhile, Blaze staggered towards her neurotic husband.

"Silver, I'm fine," she said firmly.

"You're still cringing," Silver pointed out.

"Maybe, but it's not the baby," Blaze urged.

"Well then, what else could it be?" Silver demanded.

"I don't know, just not—"

"Exactly!"

"Silver! I'm fine! I'm not going into labour!"

"That is bullsh—!"

"Hello?" someone answered on the other end of the telephone.

"Hello! Oh, Christ..." Silver muttered. "Maude, this is Silver the Hedgehog."

"Oh hi, Silver," Maude chirped.

"Hi, nice to hear from ya. Listen. Blaze is having sharp pains in her stomach!"

"They're not that sharp..." Blaze murmured, annoyed.

"Sharp pains?" asked Maude.

"In her lower stomach!" Silver articulated. "It started just a few minutes ago, but it's really sudden and really painful."

He had the midwife's full attention.

"Okay, how far apart are the pains?"

"Pretty constant," Blaze shot in, so occupied with the pain that she didn't care anymore.

"Pretty constant," Silver repeated.

"Okay, Silver, I'm gonna have to ask you to drive her over to the hospital. It may not be labour, but it sounds like it's definitely worth checking over, just to make sure."

"Right. I'll see you in five minutes," Silver said speedily, then hung up. He turned to his wife. "We're going to the hospital."

"Silver, I'm going to be fine, I promise you," Blaze sighed, cradling her stomach. Silver, however, was occupying himself with grabbing the hospital bag and a night-time's supply of food. In a few seconds, he had whizzed around the house, gathering every necessary item before snatching Blaze by the elbow and hauling her into their car.

"This is completely unnecessary," Blaze muttered, clutching her bump.

"You tell that to the midwife!" Silver ordered, starting up the engine.

Blaze took a few deep breaths, mostly to numb herself just a little bit from the pain and partly to prepare herself for the chaos that approached at high speed.


	7. On Ice

**_Okay, so this is gonna be LONG. A lot happens here. I've come up with a lot more stuff so I may have to make this a whole saga thing. Man, I hope I get more reviews - I don't want to carry on writing all this stuff when it's crap XD Rated T for language._**

* * *

"Honestly, Tails, you look cute when you're all dressed up," said Cream as she and her two-tailed companion wandered into the classy bar where the heroes were meeting that evening. They were five minutes early, but Cream always made sure of that with every occasion.

Tails looked slightly uncomfortable in his bow tie. "I hate formality."

Cream smiled at him. "I know you do, but try to contain yourself for me."

Tails flinched, then glowed with love for the young woman rabbit who accompanied him. "Anything for my Dreamy Cream."

Cream pecked his cheek happily and led the way to the bar. Now she was eighteen, the legal age limit for purchasing alcohol on Mobius, _**(as it is in England! WOO! Sonic: Shut up, MistressMurder. Me: Okay!) **_she was eager to take advantage of her new adulthood. Her mother had been slightly uncomfortable with the idea, but as long as Tails and good company were with her, she would sleep peacefully tonight._ It's not like Cream to get hammered at nine in the evening anyway,_ thought Tails.

"One Jumbled Julep and two shots of vodka please."

_Or is it?  
__

* * *

"And I was like _LAY_-DEH, _LAY-_DEH, _LAY-_DEH, OOOOH!" sang Amy at the top of her voice in the backseat of Rouge's car. "_LAY-_DEH, _LAY-_DEH, _LAY-_DEH, _OOOOH_!" Rouge and Shadow sat in the front, with faces that seemed to welcome an early death. "_LAY-_DEH, _LAY-_DEH, _LAY-_DEH, OOOHH! Thought you'd always be MIIIIINE, miiiiine!"

The stereo was turned off by a white bat that was on the verge of smashing the car up.

"Thank you!" Shadow breathed.

"Heeeyyy!" Amy protested. "I love that song!"

"Get a room then," Rouge threw back.

"Aw, Rouge, pleeeeaaasse?"

"She's worse than Alba," Shadow muttered. Rouge smirked.

"What was that?" Amy spluttered.

"Nothing," Shadow said, grinning darkly to himself.

"Come on, you guys, have you no taste in music whatsoever?"

"Have you no sense of decency?" asked Rouge.

"Want some Flightwish?" asked Shadow to Rouge, who seemed more than relieved at this proposition.

"Anything but this trash," she said.

"Hey!" said Amy as Shadow took liberty of putting in a symphonic metal CD into the stereo. "You can't be serious!"

Heavier, darker and more orchestrated music flooded the automobile accompanied by an operatic female voice.

"That's more like it," smiled Rouge. "Way sexier."

"You're saying Justin the Beaver isn't sexy?" Amy trilled.

"Amy, he's got a voice that convinces you that his balls haven't dropped," said Shadow.

Rouge took out some of her frustration on a nearby driver who cut in front of her with a dose of profanity.

"But Justin the Beaver is HOT!" Amy continued.

"And so's the lollipop lady," said Shadow, who seemed to be the last person on earth who could converse with an overly-bubbly pink hedgehog and keep his cool.

"Hey, you know, _that's _a good song!" said Amy. "Lolli_pop_, lollipop, oh, dolly-Holly-lolly..."

"Amy, shut it!" Rouge snapped.

"Okay, fine," Amy grumbled, silencing herself at last.

"Man!" Rouge muttered. "Give her a few more years, they said. She'll grow up, they said. Well, kiss my pretty little ass Amy Rose would grow the fuck up!"

There followed a heavy silence in the car. Only the stereo buzzed with theatrical metal on a low volume. Shadow slipped a glance over to the wing mirror and caught Amy's reflection in the backseat. She looked rather stung. Once again, Rouge had gone a little too far – and she wasn't about to admit it, let alone feel sorry for it.

After observing the young hedgehog for more than a few years, Shadow had to give it to her that she had _tried_ to grow up. She stopped hounding Sonic twenty-four-seven and she had started to quiet down when people asked her to. The death hugs were more of warm bear hugs than sudden suffocation. She had kept her feelings to herself more often; she hadn't even said a bad word to Mina at all. Granted, she _did_ talk behind her back out of jealousy, but that was to be expected from someone who was crazily in love with someone who had engaged his affections elsewhere.

Then, six months ago, she had a relapse. Sonic proposed to Mina and the vulnerable, demanding, attention-seeking kid whom Amy had swallowed back for years started to rear her pink-quilled head once again. Not instantly. But little by little, Amy had let herself go even more, pushing everyone's limits just a bit more every day. Shadow silently admitted to himself that he felt sorry for the kid and even had the guts to convince himself that all she really needed was a decent friend – someone to mellow her out, someone to tame her, someone patient enough to ride out her stormy, childish antics. He confirmed to himself that he had gone slightly mad when he concluded that that someone was himself.

"Amy," he said softly after a long while of painful silence. Amy's head swung up a notch as Shadow handed something over to her. It was his iPod. In the centre of the screen, amongst the Carolyn Cancer, Sisters of Heresy and Effervescence was a Taylor the Swift album – now playing. Amy smiled in gratitude at the black hedgehog who raised his eyebrows with a small smile at her in the wing mirror.  
_

* * *

A quarter of the way through the night, Cream drank steadily from her only shot and cocktail. Tails steadfastly made it through one vodka shot, five tequila shots and a Pina Colada. Knuckles had a double G&T and four tequila shots while Sonic settled with a tequila shot, a Pina Colada and a catch up with his best friend (he enjoyed it when alcohol loosened Tails' tongue a bit). Rouge ordered her usual dry martini and sat back with Shadow as Amy, Cream and Mina chattered away about Mina's upcoming wedding. Rouge rolled her eyes.

"So infantile," she sighed.

"What is?" asked Shadow, sipping a Bacardi and coke.

Rouge pouted and fluttered her eyelashes stupidly in an over-the-top imitation of the three girls. "Look at me, I'm getting married, look at me, I'm the flower girl, let's all get some pretty flowers and dance around all happy and in love – blah, blah, blah."

Shadow grunted.

"They're such assholes. All a wedding is is a party and they're acting like it's the second coming – Jesus Christ."

"You sound jealous," Shadow put in, unabashed.

Rouge rolled her eyes again.

"I'm sorry, I almost choked and died there. I sound what now?"

"Jealous," Shadow repeated. "You're only making fun of them because you don't have a normal life like they do."

"I think The Ultimate Life Form is only speaking from personal experiences and neglects to realise that I am perfectly satisfied with my life. I don't want a normal life. Why should I live up to anyone's expectations when I can just do whatever the hell I want to?"

"Oh yeah? How many jewels have you stolen this month?"

"How much sex have you had this year?"

Shadow was silent. Then he shrugged and let Rouge have her victory as the girls in the corner suddenly broke out into tipsy, girlish laughter.  
_

* * *

Amy felt herself going crimson with laughter. It was a while since she felt truly comfortable amongst her friends and she had alcohol to thank for that.

"So then Sally comes in drunk as a skunk to find her packed suitcases in the kitchen!" Mina laughed, prompting another round of laughter among the female trio.

"What a horrible surprise for the little princess!" Cream exclaimed, fiddling with the little pink bow on the neckline of her white spaghetti-strap dress.

"Oh, she was surprised, lemme tell you!" Mina giggled. "She was appalled. Sonic kicked her out and she spent the next two hours bawling outside the door 'I'm the princess! You can't do this to me!'"

Amy split into giggles. "Poor little princess!"

"I thought I'd never say this, but I think she got what she was asking for," said Cream.

"Well, once a cheater, always a cheater," said Mina. "She's a clever one, though."

"What?" Amy shrieked.

"Hey, you have to give it to her that she is very clever!"

Amy hesitated. "Yeah, I guess..."

"She's extremely manipulative. All through her and Sonic's relationship, she was all about flipping things around, making him feel sorry for her, making him feel guilty – she had him wrapped around her little finger."

"Good riddance!" said Amy.

"It was you who made him see that," Cream smiled at Mina.

Mina blushed. "I just didn't want him to get hurt."

"You didn't want to see her stab him us all in the back one more time. I woulda done the same thing!" said Amy.

Cream raised her glass. "To best friends who stay together and don't stab each other in the back."

"I'll drink to that!" said Amy, clinking her glass against the others and drinking. Just then, a waitress popped over with a glass and put it on the table.

"This is from the woman on table fifteen," she said, and left without another word.

The three friends stared at it. It was vodka on ice with lime. They looked at each other. They all looked around. They huddled.

"Where's table fifteen?" Amy whispered urgently.

"This is table five," Cream pointed out.

"Scan the area," Mina ordered. The girls idly scoped the scenery, pretending not to be interested much. However, something caught Cream's eye and it made her jaw drop and her stomach plummet into her summer sandals.

"Mina," she whispered. She had the mongoose's full attention immediately. "Acorn Princess at one o'clock."

Sure enough, at the other side of the bar, a princess named Sally sat in what appeared to be a fur coat, sipping delicately from a cocktail glass. Their eyes met, causing Mina's gut to automatically tangle. Slowly, Mina drew her focus to the vodka that waited patiently in front of her.

"Playin' it cool, are we?" she muttered.

"Mina. What is it?" Amy whispered.

"It's vodka on ice with lime – the same drink she slipped me a tranquiliser into to try and win Sonic back when we were first dating. She very famously failed to get away with it. Sonic's fault, of course."

"What are you gonna do?" Cream whispered.

"I think you know," said Mina, a steely look coming into her eyes.

"Mina, no," said Amy. "Don't start anything."

"Hey, I'm not a spoilt princess – I ain't gonna," said Mina.

"You're gonna drink it, aren't you?" said Cream.

Amy gasped. "You've already had six shots, a Sex on the Beach and a Blue Lagoon in the last hour and a half – that's gotta be _how many units_?"

"High tolerance, babe," Mina murmured. "Very high tolerance.

Mina locked eye contact with the princess, who tilted her cocktail towards her and sipped, a sly grin on her smug face meaning the war was on. Mina grabbed the glass, swung her head back and chugged the ice-cold drink down. It burned her throat and tasted like gasoline, but she downed it in one swoop. She held the empty glass triumphantly for a second before bringing it down to the table with a small clatter. Amy and Cream waited anxiously with astonished faces.

"Nothin' to lose, now bring it...bitch."

Producing an air of impression, Sally got up and began to make her way over to their table.

"Mina, why did you drink it?" Cream whispered quickly.

"Yeah, Mina, it might have been spiked, knowing her!" added Amy.

"Yeah, well, bite me, princess. My hedgehog is secured." Sally came over with a scary smile. "Buckle up, guys," Mina advised.

The princess stood before them, a fiery glare in her eyes but a cool composure. She had obviously been ready for this.

"Evening, ladies," she said coolly.

Amy and Cream were lost for words. Not so Mina.

"We were just talking about you," she said sweetly.

* * *

**_Aaaaah! What's gonna happen? I know! READ ON! :D More chapters coming up!_**


	8. Knuckles' Dare

**_I think it's time for a recap. The heroes have returned home. Blaze is rushed to the hospital - could it be that the baby is on the way? PS. I changed it from 2 weeks to 4 weeks until she's due. Sorry about the confusion, it pissed me off too. Now the heroes are enjoying a night of drinks. That is, until, a certain someone from the past decides to rear her squirrel-faced head...I hope I still have readers :3 Rated T for language._**

* * *

"Well, shit," said Shadow.

"What?" said Rouge.

"Shit just got serious," he said, gesturing over to Sally standing over the three women. Rouge looked, vaguely impressed.

"Well, shit," she said.

They ordered another drink.  
_

* * *

"Help! I'm bein' attacked!" Tails yelped as Sonic grabbed him by the scruff of the neck.

"He forfeits!" Sonic cried.

"No!"

"Another shot," Knuckles said proudly, handing one over to the struggling fox.

Grimacing, Tails downed it. "I'm too proud to get wasted." Sonic laughed. "It's not funny, Sonic, it's not my fault I'm a bit of a loser!"

"You're not a loser, Tails," said Sonic. "You just secretly love to get trashed."

"Lies!" Tails cried. The attention was then turned to Knuckles.

"Right, Knuckie," said Sonic. "Truth or dare?"

"Dare," Knuckles ordered. He had been avoiding the inevitable 'What do you really think of Rouge' all night. It was so predictable and so banal he could cry.

"I dare you to go over and hit on Rouge," said Sonic.

_Crap._

"Oh, come on!" Knuckles cried. "Will you guys stop? The whole Rouge thing is getting seriously old."

"Yeah, Sonic, lay off the Rouge thing," said Tails.

"Thank you!" Knuckles sighed.

But the fox wouldn't let up that easily. "It's not his fault he's in _luuuurrrrve_!"

"Oh, shut up!" said Knuckles.

"Regardless," Sonic continued. "I dare you to go over there and hit on Rouge."

"And if I don't?"

"Then you have to tell us who or _what_ you whack off to," Tails projected. "Considering that apart from Rouge and Amy, all girls you know are off-limits."

Knuckles flushed. Sonic laughed. Tails smacked his lips, settling into a comfortable, tipsy stupor.

"The Guardian of the Master Emerald...!" Knuckles began, but he found he couldn't finish that sentence.

"Even the Guardian of the Master Emerald has needs," Sonic quipped.

Knuckles groaned. "This is ridiculous."

"Make your choice, Emerald-kisser," said Sonic.

Knuckles raised a fist. "Don't tempt me, hedgehog!"

"Easy, buddy," said Sonic, taking the echidna's fist in his hand and lowering it. "It's all a game. Now, either tell us your secret porn star or show us your secret porn star!"

Knuckles grabbed a shot, downed it, and got up.

Sonic and Tails watched in fascination.

"Oh my God, he's actually gonna do it," Sonic said, stifling an amused laugh.

"This is gonna be entertaining," agreed Tails.  
_

* * *

"Hey Rouge," said Knuckles.

Rouge turned, saw him, said "Oh" and turned back.

Knuckles rounded up on his target. "How you doin'?"

Barely ten seconds in and he was recoiling at himself. Who was he? Joey Tribbiani?

"Uh...okay?" said Rouge uncertainly. Shadow looked just as confused.

There was a pause in which Knuckles bought the time to remember that being the guardian of the Master Emerald ensured you to never have a social life and he was looking at the biggest fail of his entire life and desperately wishing he could put a gun to his head at that very instant.

"So...how about this place, huh?" he managed.

Rouge and Shadow swapped disconcerted looks. "Yeah, it's nice."

"So...what you drinkin'?"

"Well, I was drinking a dry martini, but thanks to your rate of perspiration, looks like nothing will breathe air again. Yay."

Knuckles self-consciously wiped his brow quickly. "Well, you look-you look great tonight."

"That's because I'm wearing a low-cut dress that accents my cleavage," Rouge said brazenly.

Knuckles found himself saying "Shyeahnowhut?" Rouge raised an eyebrow. Knuckles cleared his throat.

"No change there, of course," he said.

"Excuse me?" said Rouge.

"I-I-I mean, no change as in 'you look great', not-not, uh, the, uh, boobs..."

"Alright. Listen, darling, I don't know what you're trying to pull here, but whatever it is, you're not gonna pull me. You should know me – I don't do exes. This is your league." She traced the rim of her cocktail glass with her finger. "This is me." She pulled out the two olives on the cocktail stick, opened her mouth and exquisitely pulled them off with her teeth. It was one of those sensual sights that Knuckles was not used to and he squirmed like anything. Rouge turned back to him. "And that's just the way it always will be. I hope I make myself clear."

Knuckles was frozen to the spot. He glimpsed Shadow, who nonchalantly took a swig from his Bacardi and coke.

"Right, okay," he managed.

"Nice try," Rouge winked.

Completely mortified, Knuckles turned to leave. Then...

"You know, I can't stand you!"

"Now what?" said Rouge.

"You're vain, egocentric, completely pretentious and I'm glad we broke up!"

"Wow. Hi, kettle, you're black."

Shadow involuntarily snorted into his drink. Knuckles had become so red it was getting hard to tell where his muzzle finished and his fur began. His voice then went dangerously low.

"Do me a favour, Rouge, if you ever get a new man, gimme his number, cos I'm pretty sure that once you've finished with him, he'll want to keep in contact with me. If you treat anyone else the same way you treated me, I'm sure we'll have a lot to talk about. If you haven't already summed it up in that little self-obsessed brain of yours, the reason you hold on to your diamonds for longer than you hold on to a man is cos you just don't have it in you to love anyone more than you love yourself. They'll get sick of you just as I did and wish they'd never met you. And that's just the way it always will be. Do I make _myself_ clear?"

Rouge was sitting with a devious pout on her face. "Are you done yet?"

Knuckles took a breath. "Yes."

"Can I say something now?"

"Yes."

Rouge threw the remainder of her drink in Knuckles' face. He cursed and stared at her, completely speechless. Rouge smiled derisively.

"Have a nice day."

Knuckles, still stunned, walked back to his table. Sonic and Tails looked like they had just stuck pins in their eyes.

"Any point in asking how it went?" Sonic asked hesitantly as Knuckles sat back down.

"Look, just..." Knuckles snapped, then calmed down. "Let's just never speak of this again."

Tails handed him a napkin to wipe away the drink. Knuckles cursed at the sting of the drink in his eyes.

"I think that task was masterfully handled," said Sonic.

"Uh, Sonic?" said Tails. Sonic ignored him.

"Few men would have the balls to tamper with something like that," he continued.

"Sonic," said Tails. Again, Sonic ignored him.

"And the fact that you did is way past impressive."

"Yeah, yeah," said Knuckles.

"Sonic," said Tails.

"What? I'm trying to make a dramatic speech."

"I know, but Princess Sally is over there with the girls."

"What?"

Sonic followed Tails' course of sight. Sure enough, Sally stood by Mina, Cream and Amy in a fur coat, holding what looked like a natural conversation with them. Mina was leaning forward, chin rested on her hands, a sweet smile playing on her face.

"What should we do?" asked Tails.

"What anyone with a brain would do," said Sonic. "Panic."

But just as Sonic and Tails got up (Tails swaying from side to side slightly), Sally left them. Guardedly, Sonic walked over to his fiancée's table. They had resumed chatting away as normal.

"Hey, sugar," he said.

"Hey," said Mina.

"What was, um...?"

"What the hell was Sally doin' here?" Tails interjected.

"Well," said Mina. "She gave us a nice drink and then came over to find out when the wedding is."

"Okay," said Sonic. "She didn't try—?"

"She's gonna crash the wedding!" Tails cried out. Cream held onto his hand for stability.

"She didn't try anything funny, did she?" asked Sonic.

"Nawh, we just had a civilised talk, funnily enough," said Mina.

"Mina did drink the vodka she sent though," said Amy.

"Really?"

"You know – just as a way of saying 'Okay, I'm game'," said Mina.

Just then, Cream's phone started ringing inside her purse. Quickly, she fished it out.

"It's Silver," she said, looking at the caller ID.

Everyone glanced at each other, confused.

Cream answered her phone. "Hello?...Yeah, hi Silver, what's up?...The hospital?" Everyone's ears pricked alarmingly at this. "Right. Is she okay?...Alright, I'm on my way." She hung up and addressed her anxious audience. "It's the baby."

"Oh my God, what's going on?" asked Mina frightfully.

"She could be going into labour."

"What's going on?" asked Knuckles, coming over.

"That's nuts!" said Tails. "She's not even supposed to have the thing for another, like, month!"

"Babies have their own rules, my darling," said Cream, gathering her things and getting up. "Now, I've drank too much to drive safely. Will I have to get a taxi?"

"I can drive," Sonic volunteered. "Only had three units at most."

"Do you want me to come with you?" asked Mina.

"No, darl, it's okay, you stay here and have fun," said Sonic. "I'll drive Cream to the hospital and then I'll come back."

"Are you sure?" asked Mina.

"Yeah, and if anything happens, I'll keep you guys updated." Sonic turned to Cream. "Cream, let's go."

"Right," she said, and the pair of them headed out.

"Oh my God," said Amy. "Blaze could be having the baby!"

"I know!" said Mina. Then the two friends turned to each other – and promptly hugged each other, squealing. It caused Knuckles to jump back slightly.

"Oh my gosh, she could be having the baby!" said Mina.

"A little baby Blaze!" Amy returned. Both were too jovial for Knuckles' liking. In his world, having a baby was scary news.

"Blaze is having the baby – now?" he asked.

"Yeah! Cream just got a call from Silver – they're at the hospital right now!"

"Well, I'll be goddamned," Knuckles mused.

"Squee, squee, squee, what are you guys getting so squeamish about?" asked Rouge who arrived on the scene.

"Blaze could be having the baby!" Mina trilled.

"_Could_ be?" said Rouge. "You mean, there's no guarantee?"

"Well, she and Silver are at the hospital right now!"

"Oh, damn," said Rouge. "And there I was thinking you were cheering because Knuckles had finally scored with a non-precious stone being."

The buzz among the group fell, weighted down with confusion. Amy and Mina stared confusedly at Knuckles, who stood grinding his teeth and commanding all of his strength so as not to slam his fist into the side of Rouge's head.

"I need some air," said Knuckles.

Rouge kissed her teeth furtively and left him to it.


	9. Backstabber?

As soon as Knuckles was outside the building in the open air, he pummelled his fist into a nearby trash can, causing it to shoot to the back of the alley, clatter and alarm an alley cat. Unknown to him, he was being watched.

"What a cheap little..." he muttered angrily. Then he took a deep breath and composed himself.

"Trouble with the ex-girlfriend?" said a nearby voice.

"Oh-ho, you betcha," said Knuckles. Then he stopped. Slowly, he drew himself up to a very bitter conclusion. "...Sally?"

He turned around. The squirrel in her fur coat leaned against the entrance to the bar, smoking a cigarette. Her appearance was such a surprise. She was hidden fully in the shadows like a gangster from a corny old crime thriller and yet close enough to have heard the excitable conversation from just inside the building. Her presence in general was disconcerting to even Knuckles.

"Evening, Knuckles," she said.

Knuckles cleared his throat and pretended not to be overly interested in her. "Evening, Princess."

Sally blew out a lungful of smoke. "You know I can't stand formality. Call me Sally." Knuckles cleared his throat again out of nerves. "Where'd Cream and the hedgehog go?"

"Uh..." said Knuckles. "To the hospital."

The squirrel smoked her cigarette contemplatively. "I see."

There was something unnatural about the way she said that. Knuckles felt it was just too calm.

"What do you want, Sally?"

The princess stamped out her cigarette and came closer. "I'm glad you're here, Knuckles. I needed to talk to you."

"Well, make it quick," he said.

Sally, however, was willing to play with him a little. She paced, drawing out some drama. Eventually, she spoke.

"How serious would you say the relationship is between Tails and the rabbit?"

Knuckles shifted uncomfortably. "Very serious, I'd say. Why?"

"Oh," said the princess. "Shame."

Knuckles eyed her. "Why 'shame'?"

Sally sighed. "Shame because he's so besotted. Shame because he chose one so young and...fickle."

"Sally, I'm not here to play games," Knuckles growled. "Will you just tell me what's going on?"

"I'm telling you that you should probably go back in there and tell your little fox friend that he shouldn't introduce his girlfriends to famous, good-looking hedgehogs if he knows what's good for him."

"What are you talking about?" Knuckles demanded.

Sally's azure eyes pierced Knuckles'. "I wouldn't put it past Sonic, of course. But Cream? Now there's a surprise. Who'd've thought one so innocent could be such a player?"

"What the hell does that mean?" demanded Knuckles.

"I _mean_..." said the squirrel. "I just saw them both head towards the car, almost copulating already. Gotta say, it kind of grossed me out to see that manwhore of a hedgehog stick his tongue down her throat like that, but not half as much as her accepting it. I guess they have a lot to finish. Why else would Sonic and Cream be so eager to get away from everyone?"

"Are you suggesting...?" said Knuckles. "You're lying. I don't believe you."

"Okay then, don't," said Sally, flatly.

"If you seriously think that Sonic and Cream are about to stab Tails and Mina in the back, think again, princess!" He turned sharply on his heel to leave her, but then turned back. "For your information, they've just got a call from Silver at the hospital and they're going to see him and Blaze. Not that it's any of your business, but I thought you'd like to clear up some of your flawed accusations."

"Really?" said Sally. "Did you witness that call?"

"No, but so what?"

"How, then, do you know?" Knuckles paused. "She fabricated the entire thing, Knuckles. Silver's not at the hospital and she and Sonic are not on their way there right now. They're probably on their way to seventh heaven in the backseat right now."

Knuckles squared up to the princess.

"How dare you!" he said. "How dare you call my friends liars!"

"Friends?" The squirrel laughed a cold laugh. It was like a jangle of razors. "I thought the guardian of the Master Emerald didn't have friends. Let alone friends who are honest and loyal to each other as much as they are to you." She paused, sending another icy stare into Knuckles' eyes. "Like I said, I wouldn't put it past Sonic. Would you?" Knuckles hesitated. "Let's be honest. Sonic doesn't have the best track record. He got together with the mongoose while we were technically still together. He's marrying her now – what a way to rain on his bachelor parade. You know what I mean? Do you get what I'm trying to get through to you?"

"Sonic...wouldn't do that..." Knuckles said slowly. "He loves Mina."

"She's gonna take away his freedom and his boozy nights out with fangirls. Do you think he'd really want that? Him – the egomaniacal hedgehog?" Knuckles was silent. "Hmmm, I thought not. Now, let's look at Cream. Granted, she's a sweet, innocent girl. But what is she? Twelve? Tails is really putting all his cookies in the Girl Scout basket there. Girls her age want to get around. Does she really want Tails to be her first and last? Now, I usually wouldn't think such a thing about a girl like Cream, but when a blue, famous, charming hedgehog is involved..." she raised her eyebrows. "I wouldn't put it past anyone. What do you say, Knuckles?"

Knuckles paused, searching desperately for something to say. Finally, he played his last card, putting a bitter emphasis on every word. However much he considered Sonic his rival, he was not about to let his prejudice ruin how he thought of Sonic and Mina's relationship.

"Sonic's marrying Mina. He loves her – I know that for sure. There's _no way_ he would do that to her."

"No way at all? Do you think he'd pass up an opportunity to break into fresh virgin meat like Cream there? It could be his last chance."

Knuckles stared at her. She stared back, a sweet, disconcerting smile creeping up her face. Then she walked past him, said "Ciao" and walked away into the night.

Knuckles stood, alone and confused. No way. There was _no way_...Cream wouldn't do that. She was far too innocent, too _clean_ almost. He always figured she was saving herself for marriage – that even three years with Tails hadn't prised her out of her chastity.

_But could that be a reason for going off with Sonic?_

"No," Knuckles reasoned with himself. "Sally is not to be trusted."

He leant against the wall and thought for a long time. All his life he had fallen into the trap of the enemy. He had let them manipulate him and twist him into working for him without him even knowing, blind to their intentions. He was sick of the humiliation, the disgust and the wretched feeling of guilt he carried when it became apparent he had been cheated, used and most of all, wrong. Knuckles was a proud echidna – he admitted it himself, he was proud – and he wasn't about to let his pride be shattered anymore. He wouldn't believe her. Cream cheating on Tails? Never. Sonic cheating on his fiancée, Mina? No. Well, maybe. Sonic and Cream together? Was it possible?

A brawl behind him broke his train of thought. A tiger and a hawk were being kicked out of the club. Seizing his senses together, Knuckles took out his phone and dialled Sonic's number. It rang once. Twice. Three times.

"Yo," said Sonic.

"Hey," said Knuckles, pressing the record button on the side of his phone. "What's going on?"

A metallic blue convertible swung around the street corners, its destination set. Cream sat in the passenger seat, her anxious brown eyes glued to the road.

"I'm so worried for her," she gasped. "I hope it isn't serious."

"It's probably a false alarm," said Sonic. "I've heard stuff like that can happen."

"I hope so," said Cream. Then suddenly, Sonic's phone began to ring. "Cream, could you get that for me?"

"Right," said the rabbit, fishing the phone out from the glove compartment. She was just about to answer it herself when Sonic grabbed it from her.

"Sonic," she protested. "Isn't that illegal?"

"Maybe, but I'm willing to risk it," he said, his eyes flicking between the road and the caller ID.

"Sonic, don't do that," Cream warned. "Let me have it."

"Knuckles?" he pondered.

"Give the phone to me," said Cream.

Sonic opened it and brought it to his ear. "Yo."

"Hey," came Knuckles' gruff voice from the other end. "What's going on?"

"I'm driving," answered Sonic.

"Really? Then why'd you answer your phone?"

"Sonic!" said Cream, trying to get him to give up the phone. "Give it to me!"

"I'm a bad hedgehog," said Sonic.

"Give it to me!" Cream repeated firmly. Then in a lower voice, she added. "We've got to get to the hospital. Quickly."

"Knuckles, I gotta go," said Sonic.

"Do you want me to catch up with you?" asked Knuckles.

"Faster, Sonic, faster!" cried Cream.

"No! No, no, no," Sonic said quickly. "No, don't catch up to us. We're, uh, we're okay." Suddenly, a tunnel came up in sight. "Uh-oh! I'm goin' in—"

"Sonic?" Knuckles called, but suddenly, the signal began cutting in and out repeatedly.

"Oh, _fuck_!" Sonic exclaimed.

"Sonic!" Cream scolded.

"Sorry, Cream, this tunnel has decided to show up and screw me hard!"

"Sonic, faster! Blaze's baby is on the way!" Cream cried out. "Take this turning! Right here!"

"Here?"

"Yes!"

"Okay!"

Sonic basically shut his phone, threw it into the back and took a sharp left. Both he and Cream were crushed against the side of the car.

"Jesus!" Sonic growled as they arrived at the hospital. Both he and Cream got out.

"Come on!" Cream ordered, heading to the main entrance.

"Right behind ya!" said Sonic, locking the door and speeding off.

"_I'm a bad hedgehog..."_

_*Give it to me!*_

"_Knuckles, I gotta go."_

"Do you want me to catch up with you?"

_*Faster, Sonic—*_

"_No! No, no—"_

_*Faster!*_

"_No, no don't catch up to us! We're, uh, we're okay...Uh-oh! I'm goin' in—"_

"Sonic?"

_..._

_*Fuck! Sonic!—ream—ow up and screw me hard—faster—baby—right here! Here? Yes! Oh!*_

_..._

Back at the bar, Knuckles pressed stop on his phone and the men's room was filled with silence. Tails stood, mouth open and eyes harrowed with shock and disbelief. There was a long pause.

"I think I'm gonna throw up," said Tails, staggering. He gagged and held a fist to his mouth. "I feel so sick."

"I'm sorry, Tails," said Knuckles. "Truly, I am. But I thought you had every right to know."

Tails turned away. Knuckles couldn't tell if he was trying to suppress a fit of vomiting or a burst of emotion.

"No effing way," he uttered. "It's not..." He took a few deep breaths and turned back to Knuckles, a hard, steely look in his eye. "It's not possible," he said.

"Really? You wanna hear the tape again?" Knuckles snapped.

Tails swung an off-target fist at Knuckles, who instantly grabbed it and crushed it in his powerful grip. Tails let out a strained yelp of pain and came to his knees. Then softly, he began to cry. Knuckles retained his firm, solemn composure, letting the now broken-hearted fox purify his system with lovesick tears.

"I thought you were kidding," Tails wept. "I really...I really hoped..."

He was cut off by a high tide of tears. He cried some more. Knuckles let go of Tails' hand which he used to cover his face. It was a sorry sight. Tails, at twenty, on his knees and sobbing in the middle of a public restroom, having had too much to drink and news that his best friend, his true love, who always stood beside him, whom he put all his faith and trust into, was going behind his back.

_With his best friend, Sonic._

With his best friend, Sonic – how that phrase rang inside his head, mocking him, scorning him, idly plucking out every screaming fibre of his being. It tortured him.

"How could she?" Tails cried out. "How could they _both..._?" It was too heavy a statement for him to finish. "No, Cream...no, baby..." He battled with the thought, clutching his head as if it were in excruciating pain.

"What happens now is up to you, Tails," said Knuckles.

It took a while for Tails to pull himself together. Alcohol had made sure of that. But after a good while of grieving, he pulled himself upright, still clutching his head, and washed his face in the sink. The cold water seeped through his fur, revitalising him. He then proceeded to drink right out of the faucet – drunkenness had deprived him of a healthy level of hydration. Then he took a few deep breaths and calmed himself. He faced his haggard reflection in the mirror.

It couldn't be true, could it?

"I gotta find her," he said finally. "I need to know why."

Instantly, the pair of them, intoxicated with both drink and anger, made their way out of the bar and headed by foot towards the hospital.


	10. A False Alarm

_**Finally! Chapter 10 is here! Sorry I haven't been updating much, I've been getting myself a deviantART account and uploading some Sonic fanart XD Yes, I do need a life. Anyway, if you wanna find out a bit more about Magenta and what she looks like, follow this link: #/d59a92q**_

* * *

It had been an hour since Blaze was admitted to the hospital. Cream had concluded that it wasn't serious enough for her to get immediate medical attention, but she was in quite a lot of pain.

"It's not even in syllabic patterns!" Blaze protested as she knelt at the side of a delivery bed. "I don't even think they're contractions – it's just lots of pain!"

Silver knelt behind her, holding both of her hands and telling her repeatedly to breathe through it. Eventually, Blaze lost her temper and snapped at him to get her a drink of water. Silver obeyed, leaving Cream alone with the cat who was swaying with the pain.

"Cream," she gasped. "It hurts..."

"I know, sweetie," said Cream, coming to her side and holding her hand. She then noticed that Blaze's eyes were filled with tears.

"What if something's wrong with the baby?" she cried as the tears spilled down her face.

"I think they would know by now if anything was wrong," said Cream, her eyes beginning to fill also. Cream was known for her sensitivity.

"But it hurts so much!" Blaze wept. "How can nothing be wrong?"

Just then, they heard a scuffle outside.

"Silver!" came one voice.

"Guys, what are you doing here?"

"Where's Sonic?" demanded what sounded like Knuckles.

"I don't know."

"Where's Cream?" came another voice that sounded like Tails.

"She's in there with Blaze – why?"

But instantly, the doors were open and Tails stumbled in. "Cream!"

"Tails? Why are you here?" said Cream, on her feet instantly.

The fox wobbled on his feet, but kept an unwavering stare at the nervous rabbit in front of him.

"I need to talk to you," he said, ambling towards her. "I need you to give me some answers."

There was something dangerous about his voice that made Cream stumble backwards.

"Tails, what's going on?" she asked timidly.

"Why don't you tell me?" Tails demanded.

"Way to show 'em, Tails," declared Knuckles in the doorway.

"Tails, what is this?" Blaze enquired importantly.

"She should tell me!" Tails shouted, pointing at Cream. "What's going on?"

"What do you mean?"

"You should know, you're the one who's going behind my back!"

"What?" Cream spluttered, moving around Tails so that he wouldn't corner her. "What on earth are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about you and your little backstabbing game, my love," said Tails, his eyes beginning to run. "About you and someone who up until now I considered my best friend – going behind my back and...and..."

"What?"

"You KNOW what!" Tails yelled, stamping his foot. His tails flicked angrily. Cream backed away, beginning to cry.

"No, Tails, I don't!" she wept angrily.

"Well, I do. And I don't know why you're..." he was broken off by a sob. "I don't know why you would do this!"

"Do _what_?" Cream demanded through hot tears.

Tails brought his hands to his face, crying into them. "You...I thought you were Cream...Cream, the innocent, naive, kind, helpful girl, who always stood by me...now you're..."

"What?" asked Cream, dreading the answer.

"You're just a..."

"What?"

Tails drew in a deep, haggard breath.

"You...are a cheat! You're an unfaithful cheat!"

Cream stood frozen in the middle of the room, shocked into silence.

"What?" demanded Blaze. "Tails, how dare you!"

"What are you talking about?" said a shocked Silver from the doorway.

"She has no way of redeeming herself," proclaimed Knuckles. "We caught her on tape."

"What?" said Blaze.

"Just now," said Knuckles. "She was in the car, doing the bad deed...with him."

"Who?" said Blaze.

"You don't mean...?" said Silver.

Knuckles didn't say a word.

"It's not true," Cream uttered defiantly, tears pouring down her face.

"Really? Should we play the tape, see what you make of it?" said Tails.

"Tails! It's _not...true_," the rabbit repeated, shaking.

"You know what? I would so believe that if I didn't already _know_ you're lying through your little bunny teeth!"

Suddenly, he was bombarded by flying objects – a vase of daisies, a clipboard and an alarm clock – that Cream had grabbed from the side board and hurled at him with all her might. Then she turned and bolted out of the room, sobbing.

"Cream!" called Blaze. It was no use. "Silver, go after her!"

Silver obeyed. There was a silence in the room. Blaze cringed against the pain in her stomach.

"Someone help me up!" she snapped.

Knuckles raced to her and helped her to her feet.

"Thank you," she said. "Now. Can someone please tell me – calmly, and one at a time – what is going on here?"

"She cheated," Tails cried. "She cheated on me with...with Sonic! My best friend! My best friend and my girlfriend!"

Knuckles came to his aid. Tails hid his face against his shoulder and sobbed, a muffled cry of "Oh, the humanity!" coming from him. Blaze, however, perched herself on the bed, grinding her teeth.

"You're drunk," she said bluntly. "The both of you have been drinking."

"Now, I'm not that drunk," Knuckles said defensively.

"You!" Blaze said sharply at Knuckles. "I want you to tell me how you reached such a heinous conclusion!"

"You wanna know?" growled Knuckles. The scorching fire in Blaze's eyes pressed him to tell faster than he had intended. "Well, okay. So there I was, outside the bar, Sonic and Cream had just gone off together to come here. They're both pretty touchy about letting other people come with them."

"Oh, really?" said Blaze sarcastically. "The rest have been drinking too much to drive and probably aren't even sober enough to be given proper admission into the maternity ward and they advise them to stay – oh, the injustice!"

Knuckles bit his tongue just then – and he was more stung by Blaze's words. Unfortunately, he reasoned with himself, she had a point.

"S-So..." he stammered. "After they're gone, I talk to Sally outside the bar. She tells me that she's just seen Sonic and Cream go off together – like _together_, together – and normally, I'm not the one to trust someone like her, so I called Sonic up just to make sure and sure enough, they're together in the car, having sex!"

"They're _what_?" said Blaze.

"They're having sex!" said Knuckles frantically. "You know? Having sex? Banging? Screwing? Scoring a home run? Dunkin' the doughnut? Giving the dog a bone?"

"I know what having sex is, Knuckles," Blaze hissed, silencing him immediately. "But how do you know this?"

Knuckles stuttered for a moment, then took out his phone. Then Sonic himself came through the door, a worried look on his face.

"Guys, what's goin' on? I just saw Silver goin' after Cream – she seemed real upset."

"There he is!" barked Knuckles. "There's the dirty hog!"

Knuckles shoved the phone into Tails' hand, stormed up to Sonic and grabbed him by the scruff of the neck. Sonic cursed loudly at him and began a scuffle.

"Don't touch me, buddy!" he ordered.

"Don't you _buddy_ me, you backstabbing son of a bitch!"

"Guys, what is this?" said Blaze, fiddling around with Knuckles' phone.

"It's proof of Cream and Sonic's crime!" cried Tails.

"I don't know who you think you are, gentlemen, but this is a hospital!" screeched another voice. Maude, a bright green parrot appeared in the room and held separate Knuckles and Sonic.

"_What's going on?"_

"_I'm driving."_

"_Really? Then why'd you answer your phone?"_

_*Sonic! Give it to me!*_

"_I'm a bad hedgehog..."_

_*Give it to me!*_

_..._

"_Knuckles, I gotta go."_

"_Do you want me to catch up with you?"_

_*Faster, Sonic—*_

"_No! No, no—"_

_*Faster!*_

"_No, no don't catch up to us! We're, uh, we're okay...Uh-oh! I'm goin' in—"_

"_Sonic?"_

_..._

_*Fuck! Sonic!—ream—ow up and screw me hard—faster—baby—right here! Here? Yes! Oh!*_

_..._

Silence flooded the room. Tails stood, breathing shallowly.

"Da fuq...?" said Sonic slowly. "What the hell is this?"

"Sonic, admit right now just what you are! You can't back down now and you owe it to Tails!" Knuckles said in a guttural growl.

"What...?" said Sonic, looking at Tails who stared back hard with wet eyes. "What the hell are you talkin' about?"

"I thought you were my best friend," said Tails. "I thought you were the good guy."

"I _am_ your best friend, Tails!" Sonic protested.

"My best friend wouldn't try to take my Cream from me!" Tails yelled.

"_What_?" Sonic cried.

"Don't you try and deny it!" Knuckles bellowed. "You heard the tape! Being true to your nature and going behind the backs of all you love! Admit it right now – you and Cream were having sex in the car, weren't you?"

"I—"

"WEREN'T YOU?"

There was a small silence. Then Sonic spoke, every word weighted with grim self-justification.

"You total penis," he said. "We went through a tunnel while I was talking to you."

A beat.

"What?" said Knuckles, eyes wide.

"We wenT," said Sonic, over-emphasising certain letters. "Through a tunnel while I was oN the phoNe to You. That's why it sounded like what you wanted it to sound like."

"What I _wanted_ _it to..._?" Knuckles argued, but Tails cut in.

"So that's why it sounded like sex noises?"

"_Yes_!" Sonic said evocatively.

Tails grabbed his own head. The room had started spinning and he began to feel very sick.

"How much have you had to drink, bud?" Sonic asked.

"Too much," mumbled the defeated fox.

"You can let go now, thanks," Sonic told the Maude, who reluctantly followed his order.

"But Sally said—"

"_Sally_?" Sonic spouted at Knuckles. "Since when is _Sally_ an accurate source of info?"

Knuckles recoiled, coming to a revolting conclusion: he had done it again.

There was a long, uncomfortable pause in the room, finally finished by Blaze groaning. Maude came to her immediately.

"Gentlemen," said Blaze. "Leave."

"Now wait a minute—," said Knuckles.

"LEAVE!" the cat screamed as Maude knelt before her.

Finally getting the picture, the three heroes left the room at light speed.

Out in the corridor, Tails sank into a nearby chair, clutching his head. Knuckles did the same, dizzy with the horrid revelation that he and his two tailed companion had just come to. Finally, Sonic spoke.

"How could you do that?" he said at last, looking despairingly at Knuckles.

"Me?" Knuckles retorted.

"Both of you!" Sonic shot back.

Another disconcerting silence followed. Tails was looking extremely nauseous.

"Guys, I need to throw up," he said.  
_

* * *

In the men's room, the sound of Tails vomiting in one of the stalls was almost drowned out by the hedgehog and the echidna rowing like nothing you'd ever heard before. A couple of confused and scared men outside opted to use the disabled toilet.

"I woulda thought you'd _learned_ by now, Knucklehead!" Sonic bellowed.

"Don't push your luck, Sonic, I still have the urge to beat the crap outta you!"

"Ooh, momma!" Sonic said sarcastically. "The first time Eggman takes advantage of your gullible little brain – fine, I get it. The second time – that was just stupid. Third time – even stupider but granted, the guy was pretty manipulative. Sally fucking Acorn – that's a whole new level of lowness, dude!"

"Just shut up!" Knuckles roared. "I'll admit it, I made a mistake. There! I said it! You happy now?"

"A mistake, huh?" Sonic snapped. "What did you think Sally was trying to do – get us to put her on our Christmas wish list?"

"Last chance, hedgehog!"

"Knuckles, somewhere in this godforsaken hospital, there is a young woman crying her heart out because some guys just didn't have the brains to think logically and put things into perspective! This is _Cream_ we're talking about – did you _ever_ stop to consider that?"

"Of course I did!" Knuckles argued. "But there was someone like you to consider too in the same equation!"

"And just _what_...is that...supposed to mean?" Sonic demanded, planting himself in the floor and looking solidly into Knuckles' eyes. "Think _very carefully _about what you say next, pal."

Knuckles paused to grind his teeth. Tails coughed into the bowl.

"I think you know what it means," Knuckles said at last.

"Okay, Knuckles, just get the fuck out before I lose my rag," Sonic said in a clipped voice. "This is a nice place and I don't wanna have to ruin the linoleum."

Knuckles barged out of the men's room and stomped down the hall. Sonic turned to a sink, gripped it and sighed, forcing out all of his rage in his breath. Tails suddenly garbled and heaved up a huge surge of vomit into the toilet. Sonic went to his friend's side. He was having a rough night tonight.

"You okay?" he asked.

It took Tails a while to get all the toxins out of his system, but eventually, he spluttered and finished and sat there with his head half-inside the porcelain dish.

"I hope you know, Tails," said Sonic slowly. "That I would never, _ever_ even think about doing something like that. You're my buddy and Cream's your girl. I have my own. Sure, I've screwed up in the past but..." He ran his hands over his quills. "I'm not that guy anymore. I've grown up. You of all people should have noticed. I'm not a player, I'm not a show off – well, mostly not anymore anyway. Girls don't mean as much to me anymore because, well, I've got one and she's perfect. She's absolutely perfect. And no disrespect to Cream or anything, but why would I have any interest in her? My last interest would be to hurt you, Tails. You're my best friend. Always have been."

Tails kept very quiet and very still. Sonic liked to think that somewhere in that china bowl, he was smiling in forgiveness. But then a beat turned into a pause and a pause turned into a silence.

"Okay, Tails, can you flush it down now cos the stench of puke is killing me," said Sonic.

No response. Tails had fallen asleep.  
_

* * *

Silver led a tear-stained Cream back to the delivery room.

"I'm sorry," she sniffed. "I just—I just c-couldn't..."

"You have nothing to be sorry for, Cream," Silver soothed. "It was a heavy, unpredictable moment. A total misunderstanding, I'm guessing."

"How could he do that? How could he _say_ such things?" she quivered.

"I don't know, sweet," said Silver. "Like I said, I'm sure it's just a big misunderstanding. And he'll have a lot to say sorry for in the morning."

They arrived in the delivery room. Surprisingly, Blaze was up on her feet, collecting her things and putting them back into the hospital bag.

"Huh?" both Silver and Cream chorused.

"Blaze?" said Cream.

"Honey, what's going on?" asked Silver.

"Nothing," said Blaze. "That's precisely the thing."

"What is?"

"It wasn't labour," said Blaze.

"Oh," said Silver. "Well, that's...that's a relief, I guess. Uh, wha-what was it, then?"

"Gas," said Maude, coming out of the adjacent bathroom. "No labour, no dilation, no sign of disturbance, just good old intestinal gas."

A beat.

"Oh," said Silver. He then heard, very momentarily, the sound of Blaze growling in embarrassment. He stifled a laugh.

"I said I was okay!" Blaze said loudly. "Now let's go home. Now."


	11. Midnight at Rouge and Shadow's

**_Finally! Chapter Eleven is here! Sorry about the wait, everyone. A girl who is applying for two different colleges can get a little busy every now and then. Thank you so, so, so much for the reviews! :D Really appreciated them. Keep 'em coming!_**

* * *

Amy hopped out of Rouge's pink Jaguar.

"Thanks so much for the lift, you guys!" she chirruped merrily.

"Okay, whatever," said Rouge.

"Take care, Amy," Shadow said kindly.

"Oh! One last thing." Amy skipped up to Shadow's window. Rouge massaged her temples. "When are Sonic and Mina getting married again? Just so I don't forget."

For what could have been the fifty-something-th time, Shadow replied, "Friday 21st of August, Amy."

Amy appeared to make a mental note of the date.

"And don't forget, honey, we're helping Mina choose her dress next week," said Rouge.

"What? Oh. Oh, right. Of course," Amy stammered, looking rather vacant.

"Are you okay, Amy?" asked Shadow.

"Yeah, no – I'm fine," said Amy as she clicked her heels together and headed off into her apartment block. "Take care, you guys."

Shadow saluted her before Rouge drove away quickly.

Amy shut her door and turned on the lights. They buzzed for a second. She leant against the closed door, feeling her heart sinking so low it became hard to breathe. She held a hand to her chest, trying to normalize her breathing.

"It's okay," she told herself. "It's okay."

Her mind whirred with confusion and an amazingly sweet sense of grief and rage, reminding her of how pitifully human (or hedgehog) she was. She dived for the freezer, dug out some Ben and Jerry's and set in for one minute in the microwave.

Five minutes later, she was in her pyjamas, eating ice cream and watching some chick flick on the TV. It had been the same movie over and over again for about six months now. It was called "Midnight at Rue Plumet". It was about two young French lovers – a ditsy but headstrong rich girl and a charming, handsome farm boy – in 1920's Earth who get separated by their social class. Years later, they are reunited when the girl's best friend reveals that she is getting married to none other than the girl's old lover, who has managed to make himself a fortune to support his rich fiancée. The story then follows the two as they slowly reunite, discovering the farm boy is with the wrong woman and he and the ditsy but headstrong heroine are meant to be together forever. On the day of the wedding, the girl confesses her love and the boy realises that he loves her too and then he finds out that his fiancée is, in fact, in love with someone else so he quickly brings that other guy to the altar so they can be married instead and he runs off with his old girlfriend and they live happily ever after.

It always made Amy cry happy tears at the end. It also made her have silly ideas. Ideas about, maybe, going to someone's wedding to confess her love to the man of _her_ dreams in the hope he'll remember how they truly are meant to be together so they'll run off into the sunset and live together forever after. After all, just like the movie suggested, it's not over – it's _never_ over – until someone says "I do".

Oh, but why was she fantasising about this? She wasn't like that anymore. She had grown up. She wasn't the silly, whimsical fangirl for Sonic she was before. She was _happy _for him and Mina. She was. She really was. She loved a wedding. Especially if it was one of her best friends' weddings. But she was also worried. She knew – she _knew_ – deep down inside that it wasn't going to last. There's only one perfect person out there in the world for everyone and maybe, just _maybe_...Mina wasn't perfect for Sonic. In fact, the more she thought about it, the more convinced she was that Sonic and Mina just weren't meant to be, and the more she thought of that, the more determined she was to do what's right and make them see that. But _how_?

Remind Sonic of who he should really be with.

Amy Rose the Hedgehog. That's who.

No. _No_. She was through with that stupid cycle of thinking. Especially when it was three in the morning. Amy got into bed, slipped on her eye mask and turned off the lights. Her bed felt so big. It was a rather peculiar feeling – being in a bed so big when she felt so small.  
_

* * *

Rouge never unwound properly until she had what she called "jewel therapy". She took a long, relaxing bath with some lit candles and surrounded herself with pricey gems of differing types, colours, shapes and sizes. The whole floor of the tub glittered with gems. Rouge thought they all looked so pretty underwater. The mesmerising thing about jewels was that they were so precise, so full of clarity and glamour that, at least while Rouge surrounded herself with them, she felt like a goddess of these untimely riches.

_Knock, knock, knock._

"What?" Rouge groaned.

"I'd like to get my toothbrush if that's okay with you, miss," called Shadow from the other side of the door.

Rouge rolled her eyes, got out of the tub, put her silk robe on and opened the door to a patient ebony hedgehog.

"Can't a girl get some decent jewel therapy in this place?" she muttered as she pushed Shadow aside and went to treat herself to a midnight indulgence in the apartment living room – a diamond pedicure.

The sound of Shadow brushing his teeth in the background was the only sound that filtered through the pair's apartment as Rouge applied pearly pink nail polish to her dainty tanned feet.

The hedgehog came in moments later and found the white bat with diamonds in between her toes.

"You're so helplessly decadent," he mused.

"Shush, you," said Rouge. "It's my special treat for being so good this weekend."

"Hmmph," grunted Shadow, sitting down opposite her. "Tell that to the echidna."

Rouge ignored this and continued to place tiny diamonds in the corners of her still-wet toenails.

"Diamonds..." she said. "...Are a girl's best friend."

"Stop being unoriginal. You're quoting that movie again," Shadow sighed.

"What?"

"Moulin Rouge."

"It's the best film – it's got my name on it."

"It's the worst, most pretentious film in the history of animal kind."

"Don't be rude," said Rouge. "Many French prostitutes worked hard for your approval."

"As if I'd be inclined to be impressed," Shadow replied sardonically. "French whores just don't do it for me."

Rouge set down the bottle of nail polish rather sharply. "Goddamn it, Shadow, anyone would think you're a closet homosexual."

"Not a homosexual," said Shadow, nonchalantly. "Just asexual."

"Please," Rouge snorted. "There's no such thing as an asexual hedgehog. Just because you're 'The Ultimate Life Form' doesn't mean you're above it – don't be so vain."

"I'm not being vain, Rouge," said Shadow. "I honestly just don't see the need to be nailing anything that moves."

"What about Serena?" said Rouge.

Shadow raised an eyebrow. Serena had been a pretty squirrel he had spent the night with a few months ago. "We were never serious."

Rouge raised an eyebrow back, then went into a full-blown, over-dramatic impression of the not-too-bright ex-lover of Shadow's – with the bimbo-style lisp and everything. "Hi, you must be Rouge! Hey there, baaaabe! Giggle, giggle, giggle. Oh, I don't mean this to sound like high school, but did he say anything about me? Giggle, giggle, giggle."

"Enough," Shadow smirked.

"Don't turn your face up like that, honey – asexual my pretty little ass," Rouge snarled.

"I have no intention of sleeping with anymore silly little squirrels anytime soon."

"What about silly little Sonic-lovers?"

"What?" Shadow groaned.

"You're the only guy who can tolerate that little squirt for miles around – don't tell me she's not up there on your list."

"I don't remember ever making a list, Ms Rouge Layfette the Bat."

"Don't use my full name, bucko," Rouge said with a hint of sourness. "Just admit you wouldn't mind plucking her Sonic-reserved flower patch."

"That's a rather distasteful way of putting it," said Shadow. "Leave the poor girl alone – she's already got Sonic and Mina's nuptials messing with her mind. It's not like she needs the added-on pressure of getting out and getting laid at some point."

"I'm only thinking about what's good for her," said Rouge, checking her fingernails. "You must be cruel to be kind, my friend. Sometimes you gotta do what's right. Or, rather, you gotta do _who's_ right."

"Will this include a lovesick echidna you've been playing around your little finger lately?" asked Shadow.

Rouge eyed him suspiciously. "Don't even get me started on that sorely pathetic little..."

"His attempt to come on to you tonight was hugely entertaining. Though, I must say, you delivered the perfect finale with that drink-throwing act."

Rouge softened. "I did, didn't I?"

"Yeah," said Shadow. Then he sat further back in his seat. "Though, a waste of money, if you ask me."

Rouge scoffed. "Compliments have their cost, so it seems..."

"And here's _you_ telling _me_ to get laid."

"Oh, I see. So is that an invitation?" Rouge said, suddenly with a certain silky tone in her voice. Shadow's senses sharpened at this. Rouge stared at him from underneath her long, black lashes, a playful smile crawling up her face. Shadow, however, as cool as a freezer, got up and headed towards the kitchen area that was adjoined to the living room.

"No rest for the wicked, huh, Rouge?" he sneered. Rouge, still grinning, got up and followed him. As Shadow lit himself a cigarette at the cooker, Rouge hopped into the air, flipped herself upside down and hung by her feet onto the ceiling lamp. Shadow turned and did a double take at the sight of his smooth-acting roommate. Then he smoked, wondering how the hell she kept her silk bathrobe covering her dignity at such an angle.

"Cigarette?" Shadow offered her. Instead, she took his in her fingers. Without a word, she brought it to her lips, inhaled and breathed out over Shadow's face. Shadow did nothing but close his eyes briefly against the sting of the nicotine smoke.

"Who needs the Guardian of the Master Emerald..." Rouge purred. "When I have the perfect partner in crime?"

"Only the best," Shadow replied.

Rouge smoked his cigarette again before bringing herself down from the ceiling to sitting on the countertop in front of him.

"Indeed," she said. "The best."

There was a slight pause, in which both roommates remained composed, looking at each other.

"God, it's so nice to have someone who's not stammering repeatedly to talk to," said Rouge. "I like a challenge."

"What's that supposed to mean, Madame?" asked Shadow, an eyebrow raised.

With that, Rouge's hands came down to the countertop and her legs wrapped tightly around the hedgehog's waist, pulling him into her lithe, nymph-like body.

"Monsieur," she purred. "What lies under this silk bathrobe is your freedom from four months of celibacy." Shadow stared at her, his face emotionless. "You might want to consider that."

Shadow paused, wondering how the hell he had got himself into this. Were he any other person, had he lacked any inch of his solid character, he would have lost his composure immediately and gratefully take advantage of Rouge's generous offer. Any four months of celibacy for the average young man would not need asking twice to jump into the lap of this gorgeous and willing bat. However, he was Shadow the Hedgehog. The Ultimate Life Form.

"That's a nice offer, but no," said Shadow. "My emotions are not reserved for a fling with my roommate."

Rouge hesitated to contemplate this, then she put the cigarette back in between Shadow's lips, hopped down from the countertop, and headed towards her bedroom.

"Well, if you ever change your mind," she said, turning at the corner. "You know where I am."

Shadow watched her cautiously. "Goodnight, Rouge."

"Goodnight, Shadow," she said, blowing a kiss. Then she left him and Shadow didn't move a muscle until he heard her door shut. He finished his cigarette and retired to his bed. The Ultimate Life Form could never be tempted. That was one thing he took most pride in.


	12. The Bipolar World of Manic the Hedgehog

**_Rated T for language. I know it's already rated T, but...yaknow. I don't plan on making anything too graphic, so it's unlikely to progress to M. However, I do like to stretch the boundaries, somewhat ;) Also, I planned Manic and Magenta's story to be a little intense. Like I said, some personal experience may or may not have gone into this ;) Raising mental health awareness, I guess. Yay, me XD God, I'm so lame. Anyway! There's a kind of flashback in this chapter. That's set in italics. Also, I do not own the lyrics to "Still Ill" by The Smiths. All ownership belongs to Morrissey and Marr. Whoop, whoop! Hehehe. Oh, and just to clarify, depekote is a psychiatric drug prescribed for sufferers of bipolar disorder. I had a friend who didn't like it because it zombified her and made her put on five stone in a year. Aripiprazole is an antipsychotic. Now, that stuff she liked! Sertraline is an antidepressant and antidepressants are usually not prescribed for people with a bipolar disorder because it can trigger a manic episode. However, antidepressant effects can be stabilised with antipsychotics and/or mood stabilisers. Like quetiapine. That stuff is magic :)_**

**_Enjoy!_**

* * *

Magenta didn't understand it. She had woken up feeling very nauseous and still she managed to wolf down her French toast and pancakes. Manic was up, thankfully, and he was making a protein milkshake. He was playing the Shag Rifles on the stereo in the kitchen, fuelled by their anarchistic lyrics to keep his energy up and running.

"How do you feel today, Sid Delicious?" asked Magenta, sweetly.

"Fuckin' shit," came the reply. Then Manic smiled over his shoulder. "But gettin' through it."

Magenta was satisfied with his attitude. She continued to eat hungrily. "These are good pancakes, darlin'."

"Glad you like them, angel," said Manic, taking a swig of his milkshake. "Don't eat too..."

He trailed off. Magenta eyed him. "What?"

He sighed. "Nothin'."

Magenta looked down at her near-empty plate. It only struck her then how quickly she had eaten. The stereo belted angry lyrics about there being no future.

"Smile," she said softly to Manic. "We first met to this song."  
_

* * *

_Memories struck Manic like liquid thunder. The roaring sound of the Shag Rifles concert, the whirring thoughts pounding through his head like bullets that he couldn't control, the bruises and pulled muscles from diving into the mosh pit, the constant acting out and hyperactive behaviour despite being drunk as hell. Everything was so _FAST_. His head was swaying, the room wouldn't stop spinning – the vile stench of urine made his mouth brew with vomit – he threw up on someone who had been knocked unconscious in the crowd – so many THOUGHTSTHOUGHTSTHOUGHTSTHOU GHTS – clambering onto the stage long before he realised what he was doing – getting spat on by Johnny Otter and it was the BEST THING THAT EVER HAPPENED TO HIM – falling back into the crowd, in love with the world – his head pounding sweetly – getting trampled, jumped on, unable to breathe – blood now all over his hands – being hauled up by the prettiest girl he ever saw in his life – she was BEAUTIFUL – suddenly he decided he was going to marry this girl and be with her forever so he kissed her furtively on the mouth as the loud punk music thundered raucously down his ears. Suddenly, he was in the medical room because he had passed out. His left arm was bandaged up – apparently, he had fallen on some broken glass – oh, but WHO CARES?! – "He has concussion" someone said – Manic laughed heartily and laughed and laughed and laughed and laughed – "That's RIDICULOUS! I'm FINE!" – he puked again and then asked where the Queen of England was because he'd like to moon her – who's that laughing? – the girl! The pretty girl he made out with! She's still here! The perfect woman to fill up with all his love AND WE HAVE TOMORROW TO GO FISHING AND AWAY TO ROZOTH IN THE CORNER OF THE UNIVERSE! Life was so beautiful. Life was so..._

_...Sweet...  
__

* * *

_Clunk! Splash!_

The milkshake fell to the floor as Manic covered his face with his hands and broke into ragged, dry sobs.

"Oh, God," Magenta muttered as she caught his slumping figure. He sunk to the floor, partly in his milkshake puddle, completely broken and bawling. Magenta embraced him as tightly as he was comfortable with.

"Oh, baby," she cried. "What is it? What's hurting?"

Manic could do nothing but cry. He clutched his sides, rocking backwards and forwards helplessly, near howling.

"Manic, what's wrong?" Magenta asked urgently.

Manic was barely able to breathe, let alone talk. Eventually, he mustered the ability to speak.

"I..." he choked. "I don't know, Madge." He sobbed for a bit longer. "I just...I just can't do it anymore."  
_

* * *

There were a couple of fast knocks on the door, which Magenta answered to immediately.

"Sonic, dude!" she grinned, hugging the blue hedgehog. "I'm so glad you've come. Sonia!"

"Alright, alright," Sonia chuckled as she was squeezed by the small mink. "What's the damage here, hun?"

"He's getting worse," said Magenta. "Much worse. He doesn't want to go out, he doesn't want to leave the house at all. He's just becoming more and more reclusive. Man, I don't know what to do anymore."

"Well, that's what we're here for," said Sonic kindly.

"He doesn't even talk," Magenta continued. "He just cries. When he's not looking like a zombie."

Sonia put a reassuring hand on Magenta's shoulder. "This is nothing new to him. He'll get through it."

"I feel bad," said Magenta, failing to stop the sadness coming into her voice. "I should know how to make him better by now."

"Don't feel bad, Madge," said Sonic. "It's not your fault. It's not the kind of situation to be blaming yourself or anyone else."

"I guess you're right, man," said Magenta. "Anyway, he's in the living room. I don't know what he's doing exactly."

"No drugs?" asked Sonia.

Magenta shook her head. "Not as far as I can see."

The trio, for a brief moment, hesitated in half-relief, half-concern.

"Well," said Sonic finally. "You go out and enjoy yourself. Forget about Manic – I'll look after him, make sure he doesn't try anything stupid."

"Thank you, Sonic," said Magenta, her chirpy voice reduced to a frail, tinkling sound.

"It's no problem," said Sonic, smiling his trademark confident grin. "He's my big bro, I can handle whatever he dishes out."

"One more thing," Magenta cut in before Sonia could drag her out. Sonia never liked being in Manic's living space, particularly when he was too depressed to clean it. "He's stopped taking his meds. I think he should start taking them again. But start off with a small dose, otherwise it'll be too much for his system."

"Got it," said Sonic. "Which meds?"

"Uhh, there should be some depekote and aripiprazole in the cupboard above the sink. But since he hasn't been on the depekote for, like, a year now, give him sertraline. It's an antidepressant so, dear God, mix it with aripiprazole otherwise he'll go nuts."

"I hear ya loud and clear, my friend," said Sonic with a salute.

Sonia nudged Magenta. "And you're the one saying you don't know how to take care of him."

Magenta smiled, her bubbly nature returning briefly.

"Go and relax for once, Madge," said Sonic. "Sonia'll take care of ya."

"Auburn has the kids in the city," said Sonia. "We'll meet him there and go have coffee."

"Yay! Kids!" Magenta sang.

"Enjoy yourself, girls," said Sonic as they bustled out the door.

The door clicked shut. Sonic set to work at once. He tidied up the place and took out the trash. Then he made sure the dishwasher was turned on. It was then he saw Manic's tape player. It was still rolling. Curiously, he picked up the earphones and stuck them in.

"_...It just wasn't like the old days anymore. No, it wasn't like those days. Am I still ill? Ohh..."_

_The Swifts? _Thought Sonic._ God._

He made his way to the living room where Manic was watching re-runs of _Beaver and Butthead_. He wasn't even grinning. Heck, Sonic even wondered if he was watching at all. There was a vacant look in his eyes, as if his mind were completely lost.

Sonic turned his attention to the TV screen where the two inbred lead characters were criticizing a Mink Floyd video. It made Sonic grin. It may have even made him laugh if he cared to listen to Mink Floyd enough to get the references.

"You know," he said to his subdued brother. "Listening to sad British pop music is probably the last thing that will make you feel better in this state."

Manic's respond was very delayed. And all he did was turn his head very slowly towards Sonic, sigh heavily and then turn back. Carefully, Sonic sat on the couch next to his helpless older brother.

"What's eatin' ya today, bro?" he asked.

It took Manic a while to answer coherently. "Dunno."

"Wanna go out for a bit?" said Sonic. "A change of scenery might help ya."

Manic barely answered at all. Sonic decided to settle for _Beaver and Butthead_. A couple of moments made Sonic laugh out loud. Manic even managed to smile, before his eyes filled with tears and he hid his face in a cushion. After the episode, Sonic turned to his emotionally broken sibling.

"Hey," he said. "How about we go down to the ol' garage, play some tunes, huh?"

Manic might as well have had to be dragged down kicking and screaming, it was that hard to shift him out of his small apartment. Sonic coaxed him as patiently and as gently as he could down every step of the apartment block to the garage. By the time they got there, Manic looked like he was ready to collapse in exhaust. But Sonic was eager to help his zombified brother.

"Okay, man, let's get you playin'," he said, settling his brother down on the seat of his legendary drum set.

"Here are your sticks," said Sonic, trying to encourage Manic to take them. Eventually, he had to prize open his hands to take them. "Okay, now gimme a sec while I tune up this baby," he said, grabbing an acoustic guitar in the corner. Manic remained completely motionless, aside from his very laboured breathing, while Sonic tuned the guitar.

As Sonic's back was turned from Manic, he pondered over his brother's illness. At a very young age, he was misdiagnosed with ADHD, which earned him his name. Ferrel must have had a hell of a time looking after him. Manic could barely concentrate on one thing for three seconds, then he was bouncing off the walls, trying to swing from ceiling lamps, running on tables and not holding still for one second even though he was screaming because he had a large gash on his right eyebrow. He was the best thief in the Sewer Country. It's because he was so good at improvising. He always got caught in the old days – so much, in fact, that Ferrel lost all confidence in him ever being a good thief – but he'd always, _always_ manage to wriggle himself away. He was a hugely creative thinker. He didn't seem to care about what could happen to him. He seemed to bounce along hyperactively in the bliss of being convinced that no matter how bad things get, everything will be okay in the end.

Then when Manic was twelve, Ferrel was captured by Eggman and roboticized. Suddenly, nothing would be okay again. Suddenly, the world was an unsafe, cruel, detestable place full of danger, sadism and devastation. Suddenly, getting up in the morning was pointless. He thought about dressing only it was pointless. He thought about eating, sleeping, making love, dying, only it was _totally fucking pointless_. Even just smiling at paper-faced passers-by demanded all of his energy to a point where he found he just couldn't do it anymore. This sickening, heavy, black feeling anchored him down into the strong tide of himself – himself, the one thing that he was so deathly afraid of – and threatened to overtake him, drown him. He was his own worst enemy. He hated himself. Yet he cried himself to sleep, hugging himself, as if his body threatened to fly apart in his sleep. He lived every day feeling more dead than alive, confused as to why he just couldn't function, trying to put impossible words to this incoherent feeling of morbidity and grief. He just couldn't survive this way. He would hang on to songs of suicide and sorrow, day and night, hoping that just one more album or one more hit of coke could help him make it through the next hour or so.

Three years, countless recreational drug intakes and four suicide attempts later, however, he was back on his feet. He had found his family. He was in a band with them. He was on a quest to search for their long-lost mother. Then he found Magenta. Love at first sight, he was sure. Manic felt so complete, so brilliant, so genius, so BRILLIANT! He practically lived at other people's houses, partying every single night for about a year, snorting everything in sight, smoking innumerable joints that made him feel only all the more complete and at peace with the world around him. He asked Magenta to live with him. He couldn't believe she said yes.

Then he got arrested for drug possession and dangerous driving. He did six months in jail, before Magenta, Sonic, Sonia and "Ma" managed to bail him out. But somehow, he was far more reckless after his prison stay than before. He drank gallons of booze per week. He said it was to make things slow down. Nobody knew what he meant. Nobody could keep up with him. He was full of too much energy, he never slept, he talked way too fast, he barely ever made sense, he was always up and about, either playing music at full volume in the middle of the night or spending all his money on a hugely expensive vacation. It was then he got stranded at Emerald Coast – completely penniless and living on a cocktail of cocaine and vodka. They found him in a $2000 suit, incontinent and quickly losing consciousness.

When he got back, he was admitted straight to the hospital where he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder type 1. Suddenly, the roller coaster of Manic's extreme moods – from both severe depression to full-blown mania – were finally recognised and dignified with a title. The doctor said that they had caught Manic at a good time. His body had been subjected to far too much drug abuse and had his mood suddenly dropped into a depressive episode again, it would have been all too easy for Manic to take his own life. Manic stayed in the hospital for a year, pickled on sedatives and antipsychotics. All this happened before he was twenty-one.

But it was okay, thought Sonic. He wasn't in that place anymore. People knew what was wrong with him. Therefore, people knew what to do with him. They placed him on suitable medication and got him out of the hospital before a year was out. He went to classes to help with the drugs and alcohol. He talked about his feelings more. His therapist suggested that the trauma of losing Ferrel had been a major contributing factor to the onset of his illness. The family supported him in every way they could. They babysat him when he was struggling with depression and locked the doors and took away his credit card when he got excited and over-confident. The meds stabilised him. They cut off the high point of his mania and the lowest part of his depression. He lived in a box of – although still up and down – manageable moods that weren't too high or too low for him to handle. His therapist encouraged Manic to be self-aware and wean himself off the meds when he felt stable enough. He had incredibly done so last year after his nephew was born. Things had been going well – no racing thoughts, no grandiose ideas – until the depression kicked in. Now, it felt all was back to square one.

Sonic shook those thoughts out of his head. Of course they weren't back to square one! So much progress had been made in the past six years! What mattered most at the end of it all was that Manic was his brother, and he was going to stick with him through every high and low no matter what.

"Alright, bro," he said at last, turning with the guitar and a capo. "Do you remember 'Wonderwall'? Alright, well, that's what's we're gonna play. I'll start with the guitar and vocals and you just come in when you're supposed to. Or, you know, whenever you feel like it. Okay? Just don't go out of rhythm on me."

Sonic strummed and began to sing. He hoped that one verse of singular strumming and vocals was enough to give Manic time to pump himself up, ready for his contribution. After a verse, it was his cue to play. He lagged in rhythm at first, but began to pick it up. As Sonic sang, he looked over at Manic. He had seen only few things more amazing than what he saw then – his brother, in the grip of depression, playing out a beautiful rhythm so poetically, so passionately that tears were rolling down his face. Sonic thanked God for music. Because music was Manic's release, his sanctuary, and his saviour.

* * *

**_Well, that's what music is to me, anyways :)_**


	13. A Further Complication

**_I hate writer's block. Having said that, it bloody well paid off because this chapter is LOOOOONNNG. Sorry. Hope you can keep up with me. This is continuing on from Manic and Magenta's story - very Magenta based. And I kinda hate to do that because Magenta's not one of the main characters, just my dumb little OC that I made up for Manic. Hey, I think the guy deserves a girl ;) Anyway. Many, many, many thanks to those of you who have reviewed so far. Please keep it up, cos I'd hate to keep feeding you guys with crap and have you hate me without me knowing XD Without much further ado, Chapter 13!_**

* * *

Sonia and Magenta had been shopping at the mall with Alba and Reed all day. Reed mostly napped, a large pacifier in his little mouth, in the pushchair, while Alba trotted alongside them, counting the fir cones she had been collecting on the way to the mall in a miniature wicker basket.

"Where to now, missus?" Sonia asked her little girl.

"Look, Mom! I got fourteen whole fir cones!"

"Okay, we'll ask Auntie Magenta," Sonia smiled, turning her attention to Magenta. She raised her eyebrows imploringly at her. Magenta shrugged.

"I've dragged you into the music store already – done all I wanted there. The new Black Flagstone album is mine, mine, mine!"

"Anything else you want, Miss Funky Punk?"

Magenta paused for thought. "Got anymore scones in that backpack, doll?"

Sonia chuckled. "You and your appetite today!"

"I know, I know, I dunno why I'm so hungry lately!"

"Have you been sleeping well lately?" Sonia asked. There was a hint of nonchalance in her tone. Maybe she was trying not to be snooty.

"Yeah, like a baby," Magenta replied. "Why?"

Sonia shrugged. "Nothing, I just think you look a bit tired. Alba, do you need to go potty again?"

"No," replied the small hedgehog, crossing her legs.

"Alba," said her mother sternly. "We don't want another fairground incident. Do you need to go potty?"

A little embarrassed, the five-year-old nodded, shuffling her feet. Sonia sighed.

"You have paper bladder, I swear," she muttered, taking her daughter by the hand. "Magenta, can you please look after Reed while I...?"

"Sure," said Magenta. Then she bent towards Alba, a big, funny grin on her face. "Have a good pee, Alba!"

Laughing, Alba was dragged into the nearest public restroom by her mother. Magenta sat on a bench in the middle of the mall, pulling the pushchair in front of her. A few people nearby stared at her as they walked past. This was not uncommon. Magenta's outlandish taste in music was reflected in her attire. She wore a tartan skirt, a too-tight top, fingerless leather gloves and a studded motorcycle jacket. Coupled with her large, hot pink, un-styled Mohawk and her enormous platform boots (worn to make her feel taller), she wasn't quite hard to spot among a crowd. Magenta had often laughed at the irony that Alba and Reed hadn't minded her and Manic's outrageous fashion sense, until she stuck a safety pin in her ear – that, for some reason, Alba didn't like on Magenta at all, and started to cry whenever she saw it. Magenta liked the idea that she could freak people out by doing nothing more than wearing the clothes she liked. There was a great liberty to not caring.

Then she drew her thoughts to Manic – oh, how hard it was not to care for him. He was the first guy she was ever truly crazy about. Any other guy who had stuck his tongue down her throat upon first meeting while she was a party-hard sixteen-year-old at a punk concert would have got a serious visit from her stolen police baton (which she actually had quite a skill with). But not Manic. Manic was...different. There was some sort of humility about him that made his otherwise inappropriate move on Magenta acceptable. Manic was exciting, Manic was caring and expressive, full of love and vibrancy. He was like electricity in her short-circuited life. They started and quitted drugs, went to protest marches, bathed, ate, slept, dreamed, planned, acted and acted out – together. Half of his brilliant character was defined by his mental illness, which Magenta liked. While his mania led them to all sorts of impulsive, thrilling adventures, his depression gave them both time to spend at home together, making it through the day, writing dark poetry and watching trashy movies. Magenta loved that she could be her weird self with him, that he laughed at her terrible spelling and found her dyslexia cute, that he loved to play with her hair, that he made a habit of bringing her breakfast in bed in the morning and didn't mind when she threw it up sometime later on, that he made feeble attempts to make her an illegally-picked bouquet of flowers whenever the impulse grabbed him, that he made her feel beautiful, clean, free, just like...like the gorgeous Nancy Spungen. He was her Sid Vicious, without the kitchen knife.

She wiped away a tear just then as she thought of him. She laughed quietly at herself – she was kind of emotional these days. She put it down to Manic being ill and PMS.

Reed stirred in the pushchair. His eyelids fluttered open. The first thing he saw was Magenta's grin.

"Hey there, little guy," she said brightly. "Did you have a nice nap?"

Reed happened to be rather cranky after his nap, because as soon as he realised his mother wasn't there at that instant, his face crumpled, his pacifier fell from his mouth and he began to wail.

"Aw, no, no, no, baby," Magenta soothed as she brought Reed out of his chair. She shushed him as best as he could, but his white muzzle began to turn red in emotion.

"Aw, Reedy-Reed, don't cry! Your cheeks are startin' to clash with your wuvly tan-coloured fur," she simpered, but Reed continued to cry. Magenta sat him on her knee and began to jog him.

"This is the way the lady rides: trot, trot, trot, trot," she spoke to the rhythm. Reed began to quiet down. "This is the way the gentleman rides: trot-a-trot-a-trot-a-trot." She increased speed slightly. She had the baby's attention. "This is the way the hunter rides: canter-canter-canter-canter!" Faster. "This is the way the racer rides: gallop, gallop, gallop and FAAALLLL—" she jogged the baby fast on her knee and then swooped him just over the floor in her hands dramatically. "...Into a ditch!" she completed.

Reed giggled. Magenta found it infectious.

"You liked that didn't you? Oh, yesh you did! Oh, yesh you did!" She tickled the chuckling infant. He laughed all the more. After their initial laugh together, Reed seemed quite calm, satisfied with his substitute mother.

"Mommy's just gone to take your sister to the potty. She'll be back in a moment. Hey, can you say 'Mommy'? 'Mommy'?"

Reed looked at her, grinning.

"Eeda!" he squealed, pointing at Magenta.

"Me? I'm Magenta!" she beamed. "I'm not Mommy. In fact, I'm Uncle Manic's girl. You know him – he's the manic-depressive with a green Mohawk. I keep telling him he should style it, maybe go for some liberty spikes, but he says he can't be f-ff...well, he's just too lazy to do it," she rambled. Reed looked at her through huge, brown eyes. "You know, you look like your daddy. Can you say 'Daddy'? 'Dada'? 'Dada'?"

"Nyanananaa," replied Reed.

"Well, at least you're trying," Magenta shrugged. More people were beginning to stare at the punk chick who was talking to a baby otter. Magenta didn't mind. To her, it made sense to carry on talking to babies even though it made no sense to them. The more she talked, the more he'd learn how to. "Do you even know who your daddy is, Reed? I mean, you sure do, 'cos you see him all the time, but do you understand what relevance he has to your life yet? I guess you don't. Well, he helped make you, Reed, and now he's at the gallery trying to sell his art. He'll be back in, like, twenty minutes. I'm pretty sure he'll sell it. He's a very good artist, Reed. It makes me wonder who you're gonna turn out like. Are you gonna be a musician like your mom or an artist like your dad? Or neither? Who knows? You just might turn out to be as brainy and math-oriented as Tails. Now, there's a sweet kid. He's the two-tailed fox who makes planes. He's going out with Cream – though I don't know what's gonna happen after last night. He accused her of cheating, which is awful. I don't know if she could forgive him. Then again, he was stupidly drunk, and Knucklehead had been led the wrong way by that bitch, Princess Sally." She gasped, catching herself. "I didn't mean that! Reed, you didn't just hear that! I don't want that to be your first word! Don't tell Mommy I said that. Please?"

"Ba, ba..." Reed babbled confusedly.

"Yeah, I guess you won't," Magenta laughed. "God, I've been so weird lately! I can barely stop eating, cussin', listening to The Sexploited and Black Flagstone – who are _awesome_ bands that I need to get your little baby ears accustomed to – and I can't for the life of my weird little self explain why my boobs feel weird. I mean, I just bought this bra two days ago and already, it feels like I've gone up a cup or something. Maybe I should just go back to being au naturele, but that's not info you wanna hear is it? Again, please don't tell Mommy I said that."

"Ba, ba, baa," Reed mumbled. Just then, Sonia came out of the toilets with Alba.

"Here comes Mommy and your sister Albino – whoops, I mean Alba, hee, hee, hee," Magenta chuckled darkly. "I'm so racist. Okay, Mister, remember what we talked about."

"The baby's awake, Mom!" Alba chirped.

"I can see that, Alba," said Sonia. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, everything's great – I think Reed is nearly talkin'!"

"Really?" said Sonia, taking her son and fastening him back into his chair.

"Well, yeah – he knows I'm a talker anyways, I could have influenced him while you were gone."

"You and your chattermouth," Sonia giggled as they began to set off down the mall once again. "Now, can you give me a minute? I need to get some supplies."

"What kinda supplies?"

"Kitchen supplies."

"What kinda kitchen supplies?"

Sonia answered through her teeth, which were clenched with embarrassment. "Cleaning kitchen supplies."

Magenta snorted. "Okie-dokie, Mrs Clean 'n' Pokey!"

"You know I like things clean!" Sonia grinned sheepishly.

"And yet, you had babies, ha, ha."

* * *

As soon as they got into the store, Magenta flinched.

"Ew, son of a...!"

"What?"

"That smell."

"What smell?" said Sonia.

"_That_ smell," said Magenta.

Sonia looked down at the baby. Carefully, she got down until her face was parallel to his diaper. Nothing.

"What on Mobius are you talking about, Magenta?"

"You can't smell it? It's that freakin' _awful_ smell of bleach," said Magenta, her nose wrinkling.

"It's the smell of cleanliness, my girl," Sonia said, rather snidely. "I know it's alien to you."

"I'm serious," said Magenta. "It's gross. Are you telling me you can't smell it?"

"I can't," said Sonia. "But, I don't know, maybe it's a smell I'm used to. And that's not a snooty remark in any way, shape or form."

Magenta smirked. "Yeah, I'm sure it's not."

"Mommy, can I have a cookie?"

"Not right now, Alba."

"But whyyyyy?"

"Because you gotta have lunch first and that will be in five minutes."

Sonia made her way towards the aisle with the cleaning products. Magenta followed cautiously, then found her stomach was turning. She held her nose, which felt fiery with the unwelcome scent.

"_Goddamn_. I don't think I can stick this," she muttered.

"Magenta, are you alright?" asked Sonia, a look of concern flitting over her features.

"I'm not sure," said Magenta, gulping. "I just can't stand that smell. It's making me sick."

"Magenta, I don't smell anything. Except for maybe the paints down the decorative aisle."

"No, that's fine, it's the bleach. It's..." Magenta shuddered and gulped. Suddenly, she didn't feel well at all.

"Okay, honey, if it's making you feel that bad, why don't you step outside the store? I only need to buy a couple of things."

"Not bleach?"

"Well...oh, what the heck, I can get this stuff another day."

And with that, the four Mobians left the store, Magenta almost tripping over herself in her eagerness to leave that hideously sharp smell of bleach behind her.

* * *

At the cafe they stopped at, Magenta fiddled with her napkin. Alba made a neat line of all of her fir cones on the edge of the table and counted them over and over again. Reed sucked on his bottle happily, holding it between his two little paws. Magenta just couldn't shift her mind over why she had acted so weird in that store. Her sense of smell had never been as sensitive before, and now she was reeling when she was at least twenty feet away from the bleach aisle. It was quite a large store, too – filled with so many other scents she could have picked up on like the paint, the new carpet, the rubber on the conveyor belt on the till, but no. It had to be the bleach. But why?

"Here you are, Aunt Magenta. I saved you the biggest one," said Alba, holding out a fir cone. Magenta was yanked out of her daze.

"Thanks, man," she grinned. "Wow, this is pretty big, huh?"

"It was the biggest one I found," said Alba, beaming with pride.

Sonia came over to their table, carrying a coffee for herself, a peanut butter sandwich for Alba and a vanilla milkshake for Magenta.

"Auburn said he'd meet us here," she said. "And God, I do hope he's sold at least one – he's been working for weeks on those monoprints...what's up?"

Magenta suddenly realised she had been staring off into space again. She blinked and focused on Sonia.

"Yeah!" she said. "Hey, thanks for the milkshake." She immediately latched on to it and began to drain it. She then paused. "They didn't have any shortcake?"

Sonia stopped blowing on her coffee. "You eat any more and you'll explode."

"Nah, just high metabolism," Magenta shrugged, sitting back and drinking again.

"You didn't ask for any coffee," said Sonia. There was a suspicious note in the way she said that. It was suspicious enough to make Magenta stare right at her.

"Mommy, can I go play in the kid's corner?"

"Not until you've finished your sandwich, Alba, understand?" said Sonia, her gaze never leaving Magenta.

There was a pause, during which Sonia stared the mink down, making her feel uneasy.

"Sonia, what's the matter?"

"Why no coffee today, Madge?"

Magenta averted her gaze down to her lap. "I dunno. Just didn't feel like it today."

"Why not?"

Magenta shrugged. "Does it matter?"

Sonia's eyes travelled over her curiously, then she encouraged her daughter to eat her crusts. For a moment, Magenta gave herself time to re-evaluate the situation. This was indeed a strange PMS she was having. Her sense of smell had gone through the roof, to a point of making her nauseous. She could barely stop eating, she suddenly didn't like coffee and her boobs felt weird – tense, even.

"Magenta, maybe I should take you home. You look real tired."

"I'm not – honestly," Magenta protested, stifling a yawn. She wasn't being wholly honest. She _did_ feel tired, in a way. Not sleepy, but sluggish, like she didn't sleep all that well. She managed to sleep through her alarm this morning, allowing Manic to prepare breakfast – which she ate at high speed even though she had woken up tasting bile in her mouth and feeling so sick she could barely stand up to begin with.

"Just premenstrual," she added. And even then, she didn't believe her own words.

She wasn't premenstrual. She was supposed to be menstrual. Now.

She realised she had been staring in disbelief at the table when Sonia broke the silence.

"It hasn't come, has it?" she whispered.

Slowly, Magenta shook her head. In total disbelief.

"No..."

The penny finally dropped in total silence. A long hesitation filled by Alba's blissfully unaware munching followed, then Magenta ran a hand through her Mohawk.

"Okay..." she managed to say. Then she reached into the inside pocket of her jacket. She pulled out a miniature of vodka.

"Guess I won't be drinkin' this today."

She tossed it into a nearby trash receptacle. Sonia was staring at Magenta, tight-lipped and worried.

"Aw, Sons, don't look at me like that, I'm fine," she chirped. "I'm totally fine."

"You're pregnant."

Magenta swore.

"Mommy, what does that mean?"

"Nothing," snapped Sonia. "Just don't ever repeat it, understand?"

"Okay."

"Sorry," Magenta flummoxed apologetically. "I'm real sorry. Oh, God..." she collected herself as best as she could. "Oh, Christ, oh, Jesus, Mary and Joseph."

"Alba, why don't you go and play in the kid's corner?" said Sonia hurriedly.

"Yaaaayyy!" the little hedgehog cheered and skipped off to play.

"Are you finished yet?" she whispered sharply to Magenta.

"Nope. Oh, goddamn, holy shit, holy, sweet motherfucker..."

The hushed stream of profanities continued for a bit while Sonia covered Reed's ears. Reed continued to gorge onto the teat of his bottle, but continued with a befuddled countenance.

"I...I can't be, can I?" Magenta stammered.

"Well, that depends," Sonia said tightly. "When did you last do my little brother?"

"God, Sonia, you make it sound like such a terrible thing," Magenta squirmed, a panicked grin creeping onto her face.

"Well, it's awkward for me when someone has been having intercourse with my brother for the past seven or eight years."

"Eight," Magenta put in. Sonia suppressed a shudder. "Okay, but seriously, I don't know, we've had a lot of sex."

"Not helping yourself right now, Madge."

"Okay, okay, sorry. Uh...I was supposed to start my liquid v-jay-jays three days ago."

"Okay, honey, you have to take a test."

"Really?"

"Yes. You might just be running a little late – you _might be_. But odds are, you're gonna have a baby."

"Well, I'll be goddamned," Magenta breathed. "I'm having a baby?"

Suddenly, a new voice was heard behind them.

"So! Guess who just sold five lots of monos to the local art gallery?" Auburn proclaimed, approaching his wife. She turned to him.

"Magenta's pregnant."

"What?" said the otter. "Are you sure?"

"Well, we don't know yet, I'm gonna do a test apparently, but...goddamn!" Magenta said, trembling slightly.

"We're gonna do it now," said Sonia, standing up.

"Hey honey, I sold my art," said Auburn.

"That's great, I'll see you in about ten minutes. Look after the kids while I'm gone."

And she was off with Magenta. Auburn, feeling slightly awkward and rebuffed, adjusted his small-spectacled glasses and sat down with his son. He cleared his throat.

"Hey, scamp!" he said. "Guess what? I just sold my art!"

He got no reply, except for a tiny, baby burp.  
_

* * *

"Honey, are you okay in there?" Sonia called into one of the stalls in the ladies' room.

"I'm fine."

"Do you need any help?"

"Uh...I think I'm good, thanks. I can pee on a stick pretty well, if I do say so myself."

"Are you sure you're doing it right?"

"What? You mean there are different ways to do it?"

"Hold it in mid-stream for five seconds."

"How's about three?"

"Just three?"

"Well, that's all I got on a one minute notice."

Sonia sighed and left her to it. A toilet's flush later, the mink stumbled out awkwardly, pregnancy test in hand and trying to shake off a ribbon of toilet paper from the sole of her left boot. She collided with Sonia.

"Okay, whoa, hey, careful with that, it's got your pee on it!" Sonia squealed.

"Relax, pee is sterile," Magenta laughed, peeling the toilet paper off her boot.

"Doesn't make it less gross."

Magenta snorted. "How can a mother of two still find pee disgusting?"

"You know me," Sonia argued. Then she took a deep breath. "Put it on the counter, over there," she said, pointing. "And wait for three minutes."

Magenta placed it on a counter in the corner of the room.

"Hey, Sonia? What does two lines mean?"

"What?"

"Well, there's the line here that was there before and now there's another one. What does that mean?"

Sonia rushed over. Sure enough, in the tiny window, coupled with the line where the indicator began, was a bright pink line.

"That," she said slowly. "Means you're pregnant."

"Well, shit," said Magenta. "But it hasn't been three minutes yet."

"Hold on," said Sonia, pulling out the instruction leaflet. She scanned it. "It says that results may vary depending on hormone levels, but wait three minutes for accurate diagnosis."

"Crap," Magenta muttered. The two stared at it for a long while. The result never flickered. Not even when Sonia counted three minutes on her iPhone.

"Positive, Sonia. I'm a pregger-begger."

"I wouldn't trust it," said Sonia. "It just came up like that. It could be faulty."

"Or I could be up the spout for shimbles."

There was a pause.

"Take the other one, just to make sure," said Sonia. There was an extra test in the packaging.

"Sonia, I ain't a machine. This bladder's made of steel."

"Not if you're pregnant, it isn't. Trust me on that one."

To Magenta's surprise, she was able to sample another test with her urine. This time, the results didn't come up immediately, so the pair waited patiently for three minutes.

"Thank God every other woman here seems to have a bladder made of stone," Sonia remarked upon the lack of company they had in the eight minutes they were in that bathroom. "So what if you are pregnant?"

Magenta chewed her nails. "I don't know."

"Are you happy about it?"

Magenta thought through her answer very carefully. "I guess I am. Although, I think that depends on how Manic feels about it."

"He loves kids," said Sonia. "He'd love one of his own."

"I know he would," said Magenta softly. "But there's no guarantee. Not when he's sick."

Sonia felt stung. For a fleeting moment, she felt angry at herself. While her little brother was fighting a hidden sickness inside his own head, all she could do was criticise his lack of house hygiene.

"We all get sick sometimes, Magenta," she said kindly. "Some more than others. Manic is no exception. He suffers, sure. But sick or not, he's gonna be a father, and that's an amazing thing. And maybe I'm just being too optimistic, I don't know, but I think, from my own experience, having a baby is a much bigger and better thing than anything else. It's bigger than your wedding day, better than getting a new house, and I believe it's a much bigger thing than whatever Manic is fighting inside himself. Right now, bipolar dominates him. Just think of how much better things are gonna be when the prospect of becoming a daddy is the number one thing in his life."

Magenta tried to smile, but instead, her eyes welled up and she began to cry. Sonia pulled her into a tight hug.

"He needs to get better..." she cried into Sonia's arms.

"He will get better," Sonia reassured her. "He will. He's got the meds, he's got you – he sure as hell will."

After a moment, Magenta managed to calm herself. She faced Sonia, an unexpected smile coming onto her face.

"I hope it's a girl," she said. "I've always wanted my own little girl just like you."

Sonia beamed. "That's the spirit." Then she glanced at her iPhone. "Oh! It's time."

"Aw, come on, Sonia, we both know that it's positive."

"Well, just to make sure..." said Sonia, going over to the test.

"The first results come up – _Ping! Ping!_ – leaving absolutely _nothing_ to the imagination!"

"Well, you never know, it could be a false positive."

"Positive. Positive, positive, positive. I'm having a baby, I'm pregnant, I'm with child, I'm carrying a litter and I hope it's a girl." She turned to Sonia, who held the test in her hand. She waited expectantly.

"I guess I don't need to tell you the answer then," Sonia said, before her face split into the biggest smile Magenta had ever seen on her.

"Nah, you really don't," Magenta beamed in a very choked voice. Tears began to pool up in her eyes again. Sonia threw her arms around the mink and hugged her until she nearly suffocated.

"Yay, I'm having a baby!" Magenta sang. "I'm having a baby!"

"You tell it, girl!" Sonia cheered.

"I'M HAVING A BABY, BIYATCH!"

* * *

_**XD**_


	14. Making it Up

_**Right. So this chapter is a lot shorter, to make up for the mega-long one last time. So what exactly did happen to Tails and Cream after he accused her of cheating?**_

* * *

"Cream, hold on!" Tails called from his bedroom window. "Just hear me out!"

Reluctantly, Cream turned on her heel and faced her boyfriend, who was having difficulty coming out into the midday light due to possibly the worst hangover of his life. Cream surprised herself by not crying, but then she had probably cried more than enough for the rest of her days last night. Tails came stumbling out of his house, trying to get his shoes on as quickly as possible. This proved a herculean task as he toppled into a couple of garbage cans and knocked over a potted plant as he did so.

"Alright," he said finally. "Just hear me out."

"I'm waiting," said Cream patiently. She looked placid, though she folded her arms to indicate she was being serious.

"Okay..." Tails began. He obviously had no speech prepared, but was attempting to stall Cream as much as possible. "I know full well – I was an idiot. A complete and absolute idiot."

"Yes, you were," Cream agreed.

Tails didn't expect Cream to be this abrupt, but he managed to continue. "I know I probably don't deserve your forgiveness, but..." He paused to massage his temples. The sun was not his friend at the moment. "Look, you're the most beautiful, astounding girl I've ever known, and I don't deserve you. I proved that fantastically last night."

"Tails, am I supposed to wait around listening to things I already—?"

"But! But-but-but, lemme finish," Tails said hurriedly. "I was outta my mind. Completely senseless. I did a stupid, stupid thing – I got drunk and let stuff get to my head. I'm not saying that's an excuse for how I acted, but that's something to take into consideration before anything else. _I was drunk_. Just know that never in my sober life would I ever accuse you of something so _stupid_ that it would put us on the train tracks, okay? You're my girl, and I love you. Okay? I love you."

Cream swayed uncertainly on her feet, arms still folded. She bit her lip before she uttered her next words.

"I love you too, Tails."

"Yes!" Tails exclaimed, heaving an inward sigh of relief.

"But I'm not happy with what you did. Drunk or not, you really upset me last night!"

"I know, I know, but that was a mistake!"

"If those are the kind of mistakes you're gonna make, I'm not sure I can stick around for much longer." Tails felt his stomach hit the pavement below him. "It's been three years, Tails. Three years. Haven't you grown at all in three years?"

"Yes! Yes, I have!" Tails insisted. "I know last night wasn't a great indication of that, but Cream, three years is a lot to ask for any guy my age. I've stuck with you for this long and I still don't wanna let go." By this point, Tails had Cream's shoulders in his hands. "I admit it, I was wrong. I hurt you and I hurt you bad – do you know how much that _kills me_? The fact that my baby girl, my Dreamy Cream, had her beautiful heart broken by me? That I broke you when I'm supposed to keep you safe and in my arms?"

Cream felt her eyes beginning to smart. But she blinked against her will to cry. She mustn't cry. She mustn't.

"I just don't understand how you could believe such a thing of me, Tails – badly recorded message or not, _why_ would you think that of me?"

"I don't know, maybe because all this time I've had you I've been so scared that you would go running off with someone else – and Cream, you could have any guy you wanted, you're that beautiful – that as soon as the suggestion was there, I knew I had let you down in some way? Maybe I knew I could see this day coming. Maybe deep down, I knew I'm just not good enough for amazing, beautiful you and you've found someone else who just might be?"

"I don't cheat," Cream said evocatively, not meeting Tails' eye. Then she was pulled into an embrace, which she found she did not protest against. His heartbeat was loud as a drum in her huge rabbit ears.

"I know, baby," said Tails. "I know you don't."

Cream leant into Tails' chest, which had really built up over the years. He was a young man now, tall, strong and brainier than ever and Cream knew she loved him. Nevertheless, she felt wronged by him, and she broke the hug.

"I have to meet my mother at the bakery," she said firmly. Vanilla had started up a bakery store in the central square of Knothole and business was high, particularly in the summer. Tails let her out of the embrace, but held her hands in his.

"I'll call you, okay?" he said to her. He leaned in to kiss her, but Cream's face was turned from him. He settled with kissing her cheek. Then she turned and got into her red mini, which had been waiting humbly by the side of the road all the time they had been conversing. Tails hung by her open window.

"Has Knucklehead apologised to you yet?"

"Yes," Cream replied flatly as she buckled herself in. "He came over and apologised first thing this morning."

Feeling his gut twist most unpleasantly, Tails forced the calm smile to stay put on his face. _How dare his friend beat him to apologising to his own girlfriend!_

"Is there any way I can make it up to you?" he tried.

"I think you'll figure it out for yourself," Cream said simply as she started up the engine and drove away.

* * *

**_Hope you're enjoying it. Seriously, I do! XD This is what I do for fun - might as well try to entertain others by doing it, it's not like I'm Wonderwoman or anything! XD Leave your comments for me to hear what you like and what you don't like and if there's anything you'd like me to change :)_**

As for there being a break for poor Knuckles whom I seem to really enjoy picking on - never fear, for I do have a nice and well-earned break planned for him at some point. Although, it does take for Rouge to be more of a bitch to him to get there, but I hope you'll bear with me :) Thank you for reading!


	15. One Week Later

**_Very girly chapter. Squeeee XD_**

* * *

The long white curtain was pulled back elegantly with golden silk. Sonia, Magenta, Blaze, Cream and Amy held their breath in complete awe. On the miniature platform before them stood Mina in a beautiful white figure-hugging mermaid gown and floor-length veil. The dress began at the corner of her shoulders and flowed over her figure with a soft v-neckline, wafting, lacy shoulder-sleeves and a short frill around her waist that accentuated her hips. Just above her knees, the dress billowed out in three bold tiers of lace and silk. Complete with diamante around the bodice and white gloves that came up to over her elbows, the blushing mongoose looked a vision.

"Is it a bit too much?" she muttered.

Her audience broke into a chorus of enthusiastic squeals and cheers.

"Are you kidding? It's beautiful!" Magenta cried.

"Mina, you look stunning!" Cream added.

"Girl, it's perfect!" Sonia proclaimed.

"It suits you so well," Blaze put in, being the only member of the party who could project all her pride and excitement for Mina through just a few simple words and a kind smile.

"Let's see the back!" Magenta said excitedly, prompting Mina to turn. Down the back was a neat line of pearly white silk buttons which ended at the small of her back where her yellow tail was sticking out.

"It really is beautiful," said Sonia, handing a box of tissues to Cream, who took them very gratefully. "And with the long veil, it just looks amazing."

"I hope I don't have to wear it for the whole day, though," said Mina, eyeing the length of her veil. "I mean, it's good I don't have a long train to trip over, but I don't want to slip up on my own veil."

"Well, that's what the Maid of Honour is for!" said Sonia.

Mina beamed at her and looked at herself in the mirror.

"So what do you think?" said Magenta.

"Is there anything you wish to change?" asked Blaze.

It took Mina a moment to answer. "Well, I can't fault it at all."

"How wonderful!" Cream cried, catching her newly arriving tears of joy in her tissues.

"But!" said Mina.

"Ooh! There's a 'but', is there?" said Magenta.

"Yes there is," Mina confirmed. "I can't wear this dress until I have the opinion of the ultimate fashionista of the group."

"Well, who's that?" asked Magenta.

"Like you don't know!" laughed Sonia. Magenta still looked confused.

"Rouge!" Sonia, Blaze and Mina said in unison.

"That's my name," said a familiar voice in the corner.

"Speak of the Devil," Magenta said wickedly.

"Step aside, ladies, let my judgement fall upon you like a thunderstorm," said the hard-to-impress bat. The group parted for her, making Mina visible to Rouge. Mina fiddled with the tiara of her veil self-consciously. Rouge scrutinised the dress with a thorough eye. Mina didn't like the look she gave. Her brow was furrowed and her lips were tight.

After a moment, she said: "A wedding cake?"

The group held their breath once again. Blaze felt the baby kick. Then Rouge's face split into a huge smile – a rare sight.

"You look absolutely beautiful," she said.

Mina jumped up and down and squealed like a schoolgirl in excitement.

"Thank you, Rouge!"

"No problem, sugar. Congratulations on landing the world-famous hedgehog."

Mina giggled with triumph. The dress was a success!

"I love it!" she sang, looking at herself in the mirror. "I absolutely love it! I wanna wear it every day!"

"Amy, what do you think?" said Cream.

"Yeah, Ames, you haven't said a word ever since she put the thing on!" said Magenta.

Amy stood at the side of the room, idolising from afar. It looked as if she had trouble getting the words out.

"She looks...she just looks so lovely."  
_

* * *

"I haven't felt the baby kick like that in a long time," Blaze sighed happily as Cream drove the car back to her house where Blaze was to have some tea.

"She looked quite amazing, didn't she?" Cream responded.

"Oh no, it wasn't how beautiful she looked – it was when we all thought that Rouge hated the dress that I got the strongest little kick from the child."

"Oh," Cream laughed. "How has everything been with the baby since last week anyway?"

"Everything has been sufficient," said Blaze primly. "Silver has been his usual slightly neurotic self, but so caring. He's made this entire maternal journey so much easier than what it could have been."

"I should expect so. What else is a husband for?"

Blaze braced herself to touch upon the subject.

"How have you and Tails been?"

Cream took a couple of seconds to answer. Then she smiled.

"We're okay now. I mean, he maybe hasn't made up for it entirely, but I know he tries."

"Yes, he really does, young Tails."

"So what kind of tea would you like when we get in?"

"Do you have any rose cherry? I've really been craving some rose cherry tea lately."

"That would be no problem, princess," Cream smiled as she parked the car in the driveway of her apartment block.

"I can't wait to get my own house," Cream mused as they both got out of the car.

"Your studies are over, you have your degree – it will not be long until you do, Cream," Blaze replied as Cream pulled out her keys from her purse.

"I hope not. But what can you do with a Degree in Vegetarian Cooking? Too many people like to eat meat."

"Cream, do you mind if I use your restroom as soon as we get in? Being this pregnant is not doing me many favours of late."

Cream stifled a giggle and they both went into her apartment.

Their breath was caught on the sight before them.

The entire kitchen was filled with beautiful flowers.

"Peonies!" Blaze said, picking up the scent.

"Pansies! Primroses and pea blossoms!"

"Speaking of which..." said Blaze and excused herself quickly to the bathroom.

Then Cream noticed in the centre of the room on the dining table was a stuffed chao. It held a velvet love heart with the words "Love You" embroidered in it. Beside this soft toy was an envelope labelled "My Dreamy Cream". Cream opened it ravenously. Out fell a letter addressed to her.

Dearest Cream,

I hope this even begins to make things up to you. If I don't see you for the rest of the night, sweet dreams, my pretty little angel.

I love you.

But you know that.

Miles x

Cream pressed the letter to her heart. He had signed it as Miles! He barely ever did that, even though Cream loved his real name just as much as his more popular one. Cream looked around. The arrangement was flawless. The foliage was pruned and organised just as much as the flowers. It was hung everywhere – the cabinets had strings of plants weaving through them, the countertops had whole bushels of flowers on top of them and the small round table was scattered with petals. It was so beautiful – both the sight and the smell – and nearby the sink sat a small vat of special plant feed. He had thought of everything! It must have cost him a fortune!

"Oh, Tails," Cream sighed blissfully as she inhaled deeply the sweet mixture of all the different flowers set in the room. Above all, Cream was completely and utterly enamoured with one fact: Tails _knew _her.


	16. Confessions of a Shopaholic

**_New chapter! Amy-central. Thanks for reading so far. Still loads to come. I'm actually really surprised how long this fanfic is gonna be. I hope I'm not pissing you guys off so much with how long it's taking for Blaze to give birth or for Sonic and Mina to get married or for Tails to propose to Cream (*SPOILERS!*) Ah well, it's in the summary. And now I've only just realised how crappy my title and summary are XD_**

* * *

Two words: _Retail Therapy. Retail Therapy. Retail Therapy._

The mantra continued in Amy's head as she hauled a dozen shopping bags through the mall. An entire afternoon of shopping had worn her out – and yet, she was not about to stop! So far, she had spent well over two hundred dollars on clothes, shoes and handbags and she still didn't feel much better. Knothole didn't have enough stores.

And then, just when she needed it most, her mountain of shopping bags gave way and toppled in her wake. Grinding her teeth and taking a deep, cleansing breath, Amy crouched down and gathered her things. She hoped desperately that her new jade bangles weren't smashed.

"Excuse me, miss, is this yours?" said a voice. A strangely familiar hand held out a platform stiletto.

"Shadow?" Amy gasped, stumbling to her feet. "What are you doing here?"

"Just finished my shift at Mongoose Montage."

"Oh! The men's shoe store?"

"No...the cosmetics store. Men's cologne?"

"Oh, right," said Amy, then she sniffed. Shadow reeked of posh male perfume. It smelled quite alluring, actually. "That figures."

"I couldn't help but notice you've dropped about fifty or so shopping bags. May I offer my service?"

Amy's attention snapped back to the pile of dropped packaging. "Oh. Nah, it's okay, I got it."

Regardless, Shadow helped the awkward young woman pick up her belongings.

"Christ," he muttered. "Must be five hundred dollars worth of stuff here."

Amy flushed in embarrassment. "It's nothing, really. Just some stuff."

"Really? Well, this stuff reeks of girlish nostalgia. My guess is you're attempting to shop your cares away?"

Amy became slightly angry that her blush was not fading at this point. "What's it to you if I am?" she demanded.

"Oh, nothing," said Shadow coolly. "I've just been working here for two and a half years now and I know what a girl channelling her stress into compulsive shopping looks like."

"I'm not compulsively shopping!"

"I believe you," Shadow replied, eyeing her enormous stack of purchases.

"What makes you think I am?"

"Well, with all due respect, Amy Rose, you're not that difficult to read."

"What does that mean?"

"You're particularly transparent."

Amy huffed. "Is that an insult?"

"Not so much an insult as an observation," Shadow answered as naturally as ever.

"Well..." Amy stammered, not being able to conceal her embarrassment any more. "I'm not stressed. I just felt like shopping. I mean, I needed to! Sometimes, if you're a girl, the impulse to shop becomes unbearable, regardless of the circumstances. It doesn't mean that she's stressed or anything – and besides, that's none of your business – it's just a girlish thing to do! And it just happens to be very therapeutic!"

"Yes, I can see it's been very relaxing to you indeed," Shadow replied.

Amy chose to ignore this sardonic remark and take back the things she was carrying from Shadow. She tried not to snatch.

"I know it's none of my business, but why all the retail therapy?"

Amy's breath hitched. _Was he a mind reader? He just stole her mantra!_

"I don't think it _is_ much of your business, thank you," Amy said, trying to look as confident as humanly possible. "Well, Shadow, it was nice to bump into you, thank you for helping me with my shopping, but I shall be going now. Good day."

She began to walk away.

"Are you sure you don't need any help?"

"I'm sure!" Amy called as one of her bags fell from her tower of items again.

"Forgive me, but it looks like you could use it."

"If I did, I'd ask for it!"

Suddenly, as if she'd tried to get away too fast, her pile of bags wobbled tremendously once again and was just about to fall terrifically when it was caught by none other than Shadow the Hedgehog. Amy did a double-take. She forgot he was almost as fast as Sonic.

"You only need ask, Amy Rose," he said in a low voice.

Amy felt awkward. There had always been something about Shadow that made her feel slightly intimidated. Then again, she was not alone in this Shadow effect. His burning red eyes and overbearing presence, not to mention he used your full name when he could, made anyone uneasy.

"Shadow, get out of my way, please. I'm fine by myself," she insisted.

"I think you'll find, Miss Rose," he said. "That I can be very persuasive."

Amy thought, _Persistent son of a bitch.  
__

* * *

"More tea?" Shadow asked, hovering the kettle over her cup.

"Sure," Amy consented. She watched as he delicately poured the silky bronze liquid into her cup. It was a very nice place Shadow had chosen – an offbeat coffee house in the corner of the mall where there was a small lava lamp on every table and jazz music playing comfortingly on the speakers. Amy looked around it. She wondered why she had never noticed this place before. Probably because it was so quiet and unimposing. But it was so ambient. The furniture was futuristic and minimalist and yet surprisingly comfortable. The wall behind the coffee machines was made entirely of black and white marble. The floor was deep red tile. On the black-painted walls hung rather remarkable charcoal drawings of sensational ladies in fabulous clothes.

"I've never seen this place before," Amy thought aloud.

"It's fairly new," Shadow answered. "It used to be a nightclub."

"Figures," Amy smiled to herself as she sipped her tea. "This is good tea as well."

"That's one of the many reasons it's my favourite place to come to in the mall," said Shadow, adding sugar to his black coffee. Amy watched him. There was never much emotion on Shadow's face. That made him a hard book to read.

"What are the other reasons?" Amy found herself saying.

Shadow shrugged. "Good caffeinated beverages?"

"What else?"

"I don't know. Maybe like the music you're listening to right now is actually the Goth rock band Liqueur."

Amy listened to the music again. It was hardly what you'd call Goth rock. It was jazzy and upbeat.

"_This_ is Liqueur?"

"The very same," said Shadow. "Liqueur like you've never heard 'em before. It's their song 'The Love Cats'. A very underrated song, I think. They tend to play very alternative tracks before, maybe not the sort of thing you're used to."

"I don't think so," Amy agreed. "Is this the sort of stuff you're into?"

"My musical taste stretches from the baroque period to the more modern, mainstream genre."

Amy raised an eyebrow. 'Mainstream' was not the word to describe Shadow.

"Alright," he said resignedly. "Mainstream alternative."

"I knew it," said Amy. "Under all those Carolyn Cancer and Effervescence albums, there's the alternative Gothic Shadow we all know."

"No-one knows me," Shadow added suddenly. This silenced Amy for a moment. _What's up with this guy? That's a pretty bold claim. We've known him for over a decade and he still has the guts to insist nobody knows him?_

"That's a pretty self-centred assumption," Amy said. "What do you mean, no-one knows you?"

"Don't take it literally, Rose," said Shadow. "Or personally. I just don't let people get close to me."

Amy softened. "Why not?"

Shadow shrugged. "I don't want them to."

"But why not?"

A small smile curled at Shadow's mouth. "Why would I? Do you mean you'd like to get to know a guy like me?"

Amy blushed slightly. "Maybe." Then she added quickly, "I'm an open-minded person, Shadow. I try to understand things, I really do."

"I think you'll find, Amy Rose," said Shadow in the same low voice he had used before. It made Amy feel nervous. "I'm a very hard guy to understand."

Amy gulped. "How hard can it be?"

Shadow chuckled darkly. "Ask Rouge. I wouldn't give myself an award for being the most open roommate. I'm The Ultimate Life Form, Rose. I wasn't born here, I was created. That alone is enough to segregate me from the rest of this world."

Amy looked into her tea. _He's probably right_, she thought to herself. "It must be lonely," she said quietly.

To her surprise, Shadow shrugged again. "No. It's hard to relate to anyone else. So what? I am my own best friend, I am my own master. What better life is there to lead?"

Amy stared. "Doesn't it make you sad at all? Not being like anyone else in the world?"

Shadow shook his head. "No-one is like anyone else. We're all unique. Isn't that wonderful?"

His words caught Amy off-guard. It struck her alarming – even wrong – that someone could be so okay with not fitting in. Surely there had to be someone he aspired to be like?

"You mean to tell me that there's no-one else you'd rather be?"

"Nope." Shadow was firm. "I am the only Ultimate Life Form. I couldn't give that position to somebody else. I wouldn't dream of it. Instead of wondering 'why me?' I think 'why not me?' Nobody else would be able to handle this – this isolation from the norm, this separation from conformity. Only I have it in me to be as different as I am. That's not a curse, that's a blessing. I am who I am and I fully accept that. In fact, I embrace that. My uniqueness is my identity. I don't intend on selling that for a more conventional lifestyle."

Amy gave this spontaneous speech pause for thought. She opened her mouth to speak, but found no words coming out. Then Shadow filled the silence.

"Are your girlish sensibilities satisfied now?"

Amy's brow furrowed. "What on Mobius does that mean?"

"This whole interview – hasn't it just been a natural response to your tingling girly senses telling you that the guy sitting in front of you is mysterious, he claims that nobody knows him so this must be the opportunity of your life and be the one to understand him, to know him and accept him?" Again, Amy was stumped. "Pardon me for being so presumptuous, but I thought that's where you were going, and I don't want you to get your hopes too high."

Amy felt like throwing her tea at him and stomping off with her pile of shopping. How arrogant of him! She blushed angrily and again opened her mouth to protest, but found she couldn't. Why?

Because everything he said was true.

"Am I really that transparent?" Amy uttered at last.

"Please don't be offended," said Shadow, a certain kindness suddenly coming into his voice. "You give yourself away just as much as most other girls I've met. Not your fault. It's just the way you are. And the same accounts for about eighty percent of the female population."

"Are you being misogynistic?" Amy demanded, her confidence creeping back.

"No," said Shadow. "I'm not saying it like it's a derogatory thing. Women are just more affluent with emotions. Feelings are slightly more alien to men. You, as a typical girl, wear your heart on your sleeve simply because it's an ability your whimsical gender possesses. No misogyny about it." He sipped his coffee. "By the way, do you know what 'misogynistic' means?"

"Now I do!" Amy grinned. "You know, Shadow, you're far more eloquent than I thought."

"Thank you," he said politely.

"And I have an idea what 'eloquent' means, I just don't know if I used it in the right context or not."

"Don't worry – you did."

"I did? Great!" Amy found herself laughing. The ebony hedgehog inspected her over the rim of his coffee mug. She thought for a fleeting second that she could see him smiling.

"I hope I have been a good enough distraction for you, Rose," said Shadow.

"Why do you keep calling me 'Rose'?" said Amy. He was the only one who did, apart from her boss at work.

"It's your name, isn't it?" said Shadow. "And it suits you. So why not?"

"In what way suits me?" asked Amy slowly.

"It suits you because of your tender colouring and because of the way you've bloomed over the years. Passionately, but with a streak of subtlety."

"I'll take that as a compliment," said Amy, sipping her tea.

"You should – you were clearly fishing for it," said Shadow bluntly.

"Hey!" Amy complained. "I was so not!"

"Don't feel ashamed, Amy Rose – it's only yet another trademark compulsion of your sex."

Amy laughed. She hadn't expected to laugh very much today. "I'd get mad at you if you weren't right."

"Oh, I know," said Shadow. They both drank their hot drinks a little more. "So," said Shadow. "Back to the discussion that originated our meeting up – why all the retail therapy?"

"Well..." Amy glanced at her huge pile of shopping. "I'm not so sure."

"So you've been uncertainly shopping compulsively like Manic on one of his high days?"

Amy giggled, then sighed. "I guess I should know. But I don't. Not really. I don't know what to think anymore." Shadow waited attentively for the miniature outburst. "You ever had those times when you were so sure about something and it let you down?"

"Perhaps," said Shadow enigmatically.

"I don't know," Amy repeated. "It shouldn't be a big deal."

"You're still in love with Sonic," Shadow said. His words felt like a blunt sword jabbing relentlessly at Amy's chest. She struggled with her next words.

"N-no," she managed. "Not 'in love' with Sonic...that's too strong a term. I think I just feel...okay, maybe a little bit crushed that he barely even considered me when he probably should have done and now he's..." she forced it out of her mouth. "...getting married." Shadow listened very well. "I guess I just...just kinda thought that...that my chance was over a little too soon," she sighed. Then she brightened up, though Shadow felt it was forced. "That isn't to say I'm not happy for Sonic and Mina, because I totally am, and Mina chose her wedding dress today and it's absolutely beautiful – although, maybe a tad too much lace if you asked me. Sonic chose her and I'm okay with that. It's true – just as long as he's happy, that's all I could ever ask for. No, they're good together. Maybe not, you know, _perfect_, but they're happy with each other, you know? They're happy. So I am too."

Shadow wondered whom she was trying to convince – him or herself?

"Still, it's gotta be a large pill for you to swallow," Shadow said gently.

"Maybe, a little," Amy admitted. "Maybe it's just a little bit harder than I thought it would be."

"Nothing is ever as easy as you hope," said Shadow. "I know that doesn't really help, but it's the truth. And knowing the truth is half the battle."

"Yeah, I guess," Amy sighed, looking into her tea. "I haven't cried about it, or anything. I mean, why should I when I'm happy?"

"Rose," Shadow said sternly, demanding her attention. "I'm not a priest – we can have an honest talk, you know."

Amy clamped her teeth together and ruffled her quills. She had grown them out over the years. They were now long enough to stick into two ponytails.

"Alright, maybe I'm a little pissed," she said edgily. "This whole thing is really stressing me out, this wedding. It's all stupid. Why is everyone making such a big deal about it? We _must_ have roses, we _must _have doves released into the air, we_ must_ have all the stupid minor details that nobody even cares about. Did I mention we _must_ have guest placemats made of sapphire and crystal? That we _must_ match the colour theme? 'Cause I _know_ we have a colour theme! I _know_ we're having sparkling grape juice instead of champagne! Did you know that the entire _globe_ knows? That the wedding's gonna be aired on national television? All because he's the planet's hero. All because he _fell in love_ with someone. Well, _big deal_! It happens all the time!"

"What does?"

"Falling in love! It happens every five seconds, and it happens so easily and people are so stupid for not thinking about what they're leaping into! Love is supposed to be this bright, beautiful thing full of sweetness and wonder and then when it's not, it's _horrible_!" By now, Amy looked like she was running out of air. "Why don't people ever acknowledge that?! Love is supposed to be beautiful and it's _not_. So _why _are people making such a big, stupid deal about two people being all _in love_ and _getting married_? It's all just stupid." She drained her tea, taking deep breaths. "Know what I mean?"

Shadow paused before speaking. "I know what you mean."

Amy took a minute to regain her composure. She swirled the dregs of her tea at the bottom of her cup, looking really rather morose. Shadow felt something rare – pity in his manufactured heart.

"You've always struck me as an all-American consumer."

"What?" said Amy. She didn't expect this.

"You say Justin the Beaver is hot. He's half your age."

"Not quite," Amy muttered. _Where was this going?_

"You religiously follow fashion trends. You buy magazines and live your life according to their horoscope prediction even though it's common knowledge that it's all astrological bullshit. You buy everything that's advertised, see every movie that Hollywood feeds you, right?"

"So?" Amy said sharply.

"If I'm not mistaken, that's a teenage vampire romance novel in your bag."

Amy self-consciously kicked her back under the table. _Did this guy have eyes everywhere?!_

"What's your point?" she ordered.

"My point is, you're filled with this pre-conceived idea that love is exactly what you find in the movies and love songs you hear. It's pretty, it's fluffy, and it only happens to good-looking people."

"That's not true..." Amy objected, but then, as she went over all of her chick flicks she had back at home, she did notice not one of the characters had a trace of acne even though all of them were allegedly seventeen.

"What you're failing to realise is that while you're wrapped up in your delusional, romanticised ideals of what this and that _should be like_, you're failing to see what everything _is actually like_. Love doesn't occur five seconds after meeting each other. Love only rarely starts in high school and results in a lifetime commitment. The reason you're so disappointed isn't because love has failed to meet your expectations, but because you set your expectations too high."

"Are you saying it's my fault?" Amy demanded, sounding a little hurt.

"No, no," Shadow said quickly. "It's not your fault society has force-fed you all this manufactured junk and dreamy theories about life that work out as effectively as communism. However, had you not been so absorbed by it, you might have had the chance to see the darker side of life. Furthermore, I don't blame you if you ever got the chance and chose to turn it down. Because nobody really wants to see that side of life."

Amy let all of this information set deep in her brain. It was like needles.

"D'you think that's the side of life Manic's seen?"

"Probably," said Shadow. "Although, the good thing about manic-depression, as I understand it, is that as well as the painful, dark side, you also get the brighter, best-time-of-your-life side."

Then Amy added, hating to ask, "Have you seen it, Shadow?"

Shadow didn't meet her eyes. "I've seen a lot of things. That's not always a good thing."

Though it wasn't a direct answer, it seemed to satisfy Amy's curiosity. She looked down into her empty teacup again, resisting the urge to start crying. Then to her vague surprise, Shadow leant in towards her.

"But it is never the end of the world, Rose," he said in that low voice, which, for some reason, had now become the thing that Amy's ears welcomed the most. "You're never alone in the dark. There are other people who hate love, life and the world as much as you do right now, probably even more. If you want my non-conformist advice, rebel against the fabricated world of romance and luxury and become adverse to it. It's better to be on the outside, hating it rather than being on the inside of it, hating yourself."

The hedgehogs held each others' gaze for a moment. In Amy's eyes was desperation for understanding, for a soft landing into the dark world of non-conformity and hate towards the system. In Shadow's eyes alone, she found she had it. Then Shadow leaned back in his seat.

"Besides," he said. "The dark side is better. We have cookies."

Amy giggled. She smiled at the hedgehog who had helped her down from a massive, threatening height. She put her hand on his.

"Thank you, Shadow," she said. "I can always count on you to cheer me up."

"I'm glad to have helped," Shadow replied. He finished his coffee. Amy smiled a thankful smile at Shadow, who responded with a rarely-seen grin. "Now let's get all this stuff in your car."  
_

* * *

Out in the parking lot, the sun had started to set. Amy shut the trunk of her pink convertible.

"I think I'm now supplied with enough shoes to last me the next five years or so," Amy declared. She turned to Shadow who stood beside her. She hugged him. "Thanks for helping me out, Shadow."

"It's really no trouble, Rose," he replied. "I hope you know that you can always be honest with me. There's nothing you can say that will piss me off or anything."

Amy broke away, giggling. "I know. Thank you."

"You don't need to keep thanking me either."

"Sorry. Thank you."

Amy lingered by him, feeling a little reluctant to go. She hated to fall into the vicious circle of thinking of Sonic, watching movies, eating ice cream and getting fat once she got home again. Shadow kept her distracted. Shadow was probably her best friend, though she would never tell Rouge that.

"Dinner," said Shadow all of a sudden.

"What?" asked Amy.

"Would you care to join me? I'll let you decide where to go."

"For dinner?"

"No. For a drug test. Of course, for dinner," the black hedgehog quipped.

For a moment, Amy's face lit up, and then it fell. "Oh. Shadow, that's a nice offer, but I don't think I should?"

"Why not?" asked Shadow.

"I've gotta be heading home," said Amy, taking out her keys and getting into her car.

"You sure you don't wanna grab a bite? I'll pay," said Shadow.

"Aw, Shadow, thank you but no. I, uh, I need to get an early night tonight."

"Okay," said the hedgehog, no emotion but contentedness in his face. "Maybe another time."

"Okay," said Amy, shutting the door. "Thanks again, Shadow."

"Don't mention it."

"Take care of yourself."

"You too."

Amy drove away with Shadow waving her off into the distance. As she hit the main road, her thoughts fell into disarray.

_Did Shadow just ask me out? No. Surely not. I mean, he's not the sort of guy that does dates and we're just friends. He knows that. But...isn't what we've just done together technically a date? Oh, I so wish there wasn't such a fine line between a date and an innocent coffee. Besides, I'm not ready to date. Not just yet._

Amy sighed inwardly as she headed home. She felt that Ben and Jerry's was on the menu once again tonight.


	17. Party Hardly

**_Writer's block is a bitch XD I may be slow to update for a little while as I sort through some personal errands and deal with the cankerous disease that is writer's block.  
__**

* * *

Magenta studied herself in the mirror while Manic was in the shower. The doctor said she was only five weeks pregnant so she wasn't about to start showing yet. But when she ran a hand over her abdomen, she could have sworn she felt something there. Something solid. She sighed. She still hadn't told Manic. He had been getting better over the week, managing his melancholy mood, but she still hadn't had the guts to tell him. Why did this baby have to show up at a tricky time like this? Magenta prodded her breasts. They certainly felt tender and they were definitely bigger already. It was a little scary, how much her body was changing after only a few weeks.

Manic came out of the shower.

"Hey," said Magenta. "You okay today?"

Manic only ruffled his spikes dry with a towel.

"Manic," she said.

"Yeah, babe?"

She was going to tell him. She was. She opened her mouth...and nothing came out.

"Madge? What's up?"

"Nothing."  
_

* * *

Silver was in the middle of his morning meditation when Blaze's twin brother arrived. He knew it was him because he was just in the middle of mentally shifting the weight of the world off his shoulders, the sound of the front door cracking open and Blaze actually _shrieking in delight_ placed three big, red letters in his head instantaneously. W, T, F. Then question mark and exclamation mark and question mark and exclamation mark. The only time he ever brought Blaze close to a shriek was in their most...intimate moments, and only then, he ever brought her to a sort of excited 'meow'.

"Sons of Orion, you've grown so much, my sister!" came a deep, almost thunderous voice from the hallway.

"Due any day now, Embs," Silver heard Blaze reply. "Come on in! I'm so glad you've finally arrived!"

"That was sufficiently evident, dear sibling."

_Please don't come in the living room – not in the living room! _Silver panicked in his head, while the other half of his brain continued to chant _Inhale...Calm...Exhale...Relax._

It was an odd conjuncture.

_Not in the living room!_

_Feel the tension surrender your body..._

_Please don't come in the living room!_

_Inhale...Calm..._

_The incense hasn't even finished burning!_

_Exhale...Relax..._

_Not. The. Living room!_

"Make yourself at home, my brother," said Blaze in the living room doorway.

"Silver! How good to see you!"

_Meditation time cut short._

"Hey, Ember!" Silver said, jumping up. "It's great to see you too!"

The two embraced in what could be described as an amicable way while Blaze went to make tea. The brother-in-laws sat together, swapping tales of pastimes and current events, while Silver tried to convince himself he wasn't about to be slaughtered for knocking up Ember's twin sister whom he loved so dearly.

Ember was a fastidious scarlet cat – a tenacious one, too – making Silver not only respect him, but fear him also. However, this did not feature much in his communication towards him. If Ember held anything besides joy in his imminent uncle-hood, Silver would have been made aware of it months ago. _Oh, yes_, he would have. Ember had the rare ability of rage – the power to lose control completely and channel that sort of chaos into his enemies' path. Had Silver been considered an enemy by his wife's elder twin brother, he would have every need to be living in constant terror. Ember looked very much like his sister, in spite of his fur colour and violet jewel displayed at the crown of his forehead. He even obtained a ponytail like Blaze's, though longer and in some sort of dreads. This suited him. He was a musician after all, in a heavy rock band named Un Flow, making him all the more threatening. He had just come back from in the middle of a tour where he was supporting Hacksaw for My Date. Aside from these intimidating traits, he was a very decent guy who loved his sister fiercely and had it in him to be the wildest of party animals.

"So when's Sonic's bachelor party?" he asked.

"Today," Silver replied. "At three. You're invited, by the way. The girls are headed to a spa at the Chao Gardens Retreat."

"Blaze is going?" said Ember, trying not to sound too protective. "With the baby on its way?"

"It's just for one night, so hopefully," said Silver, pausing to emphasise the word 'hopefully'. "She'll be okay."

Just then, Blaze came through the door, carrying a tray with tea and cookies.

"What is this? Are you two talking of me behind my back?" she demanded jokingly.

"Of course, sugar pie, we've got some really bitchy things to say about you," Silver responded, inviting her to sit by him on the couch and tickling her as she did so. She giggled.

"What are you guys doing for Sonic's bachelor party?"

"Yes, what are we doing?" asked Ember.

"Uh, I think Sonic has booked us an hour or two in the stadium. Set us some competition, some races, some games. Should be good."

"Now honey, while you're competing against the guys, don't get too competitive," said Blaze.

"I won't get too competitive – I never get too competitive!" said Silver somewhat defensively. Ember snorted.

"You're a thousand times better than Sonic to me. Isn't that all that matters?" Blaze simpered.

Silver thought for a second. "No, I need to be better than him to everybody!"

Ember and Blaze laughed.

"Why are men so competitive?" Blaze sighed.

"Centuries of reinforcement," Ember answered her.

"It's not just me," Silver whined. "I know that Knuckles feels inferior to Sonic too and always feels that he needs to prove himself. I mean, it's not like Sonic allows people to feel that they're any better than him."

"And why should he?" asked Blaze.

"Because he's not the only hero around," Silver said, sulking.

"But he is the fastest hedgehog around," said Ember.

"Shut up," Silver moped, defeated.

Blaze kissed her husband on the forehead. "You're my hero."

Silver smiled a little her way. "I'm glad."

"Blaze," said Ember. Blaze's ear twitched. She could feel a big twin brother speech coming on. "Are you sure you're fit to go spend the night at a spa in your condition?"

"Of course, Ember," she said reassuringly. "If anything happens, you'll know about it immediately. And it's just for one night."

"I know, but I'm not sure if I like the idea of you going someplace without your husband or myself in the current state you're in. What happens if you go into labour?"

"Then I'll notify you and ask to be sent to the hospital."

"Do you have your hospital bag ready?"

"Yes."

"Have you practiced your breathing?"

"Yes."

"Is the nursery ready?"

"Ember, calm down – everything is prepared."

"Okay," Ember said, taking a breath. "Just making sure."

"Stupid hedgehog," Silver muttered. "He's gonna get the competition of a lifetime tonight!"  
_

* * *

Silver lost, of course, and couldn't contain his bitterness.

"I could have won that race if I put my mind to it," he uttered sourly.

"So you lost to the faker – big deal," Shadow consoled him, which managed to cheer him up a bit.

"Tails! Are we gonna go any higher or are you really that too precious about this thing?" Silver called to the pilot of their luxury plane ride. The plane itself contained, in order, Tails, Sonic, Knuckles, Silver, Shadow, Ember and Manic. Auburn had to stay home and babysit the kids. Someone had to.

"_This thing_," Tails said rather hotly. "Is the Cyclone Advance 2000 and it took me eight months to make. I don't intend on abusing its virgin abilities."

"Screw the virgin abilities!" Ember yelled suddenly. "I say we rape the virgin abilities!"

"It wouldn't hurt for you to do a bit of a showcase would it, buddy?" asked Sonic from the seat behind Tails.

Tails reconsidered, and sighed. "Okay, but this calls for an announcement."

He flicked a switch – _ping! _– the seatbelt sign flared up on the overhead panel. Tails picked up a radio speaker and then the plane was filled with his voice. "Gentlemen, please fasten your seatbelts, this is a pilot's order, please fasten your seatbelts in preparation for..." dramatic pause. "The die-hard experience."

There were some whoops and cheers from behind Tails. Hating himself for it, Tails launched his precious plane into a fast dive, then a drastic skim across the sea. Excitement began to fizz through the air. In a matter of seconds, the plane was looping and spinning, nose-diving and leaping through the clouds. Tails broke into a sweat keeping the deadly ride under control, while all the guys in the back were cheering and yelling, having the time of their lives. Except for Knuckles, who began to look quite sick.

"Hey Shadow! Suck on this!" Sonic yelled, before hacking and spitting ferociously into the air. The wad of saliva was about to collide with Shadow's face before Tails did a fantastic nose dive and the spit splattered with a great splash on the back of Knuckles' head.

"Aargh! Hey! That's gross!"

"Damned Faker!" Shadow roared, then he himself hacked and spat – just as Tails swooped the plane up into the air again – resulting in another wad of spit landing straight in Knuckles' face.

"Aargh! You guys! Stop! Tails, I don't feel so good!"

Speakers came on again. "Sick bags are attached to the seat in front of you, Knuckles."

"Hey! Catch this, Sonic!" Silver shouted, hacking.

"Silver!" Ember said warningly. Silver gulped. "Don't start something you can't finish!"

"But dude!" Silver protested.

"You heard the brother-in-law, Sylvia!" Sonic taunted.

"Tails, I'm gonna hurl!" Knuckles shouted.

The plane slowed down and the speakers turned on. "Please don't hurl on the seats. They're leather."

"Dude! There's our stop!" Sonic yelped over Tails' shoulder.

"Attention, gentlemen, please ensure your seatbelts are fastened for our landing at Christmas Island."

Tails landed the plane smoothly on a tropical runway. They all clambered out. Knuckles lost his balance and landed on his face.

"I don't feel well," he said, disgruntled.

"Cheer up, Knuckles, we got a whole party to have," said Sonic cheerfully. "Sorry for the spit war."

"You'd better be!" Knuckles snapped, getting up on trembling knees. "I hate planes."

Tails pretended he didn't hear that. He checked everyone was out. Sonic, Knuckles, Silver, Shadow, Ember...where was Manic?

Manic was still in the plane, sitting right in the back. Tails hopped up onto the wing and saw that Manic's seatbelt was undone.

"Did you ever fasten your seatbelt?" he asked.

"Uh...no," Manic said quietly.

"Why not?"asked Tails cautiously.

Manic shrugged, downcast.

"Come on, man," said Tails. "Sorry you're feeling so down lately, but try to have a good time. For your brother."

"I'll try, man," said Manic, slowly getting out of the plane. "I'll try."  
_

* * *

At nine thirty that evening, Blaze was in the hospital. She and the girls arrived at the main reception, all in their bathrobes, having just come from the spa in the middle of intensive treatment. Cream was carrying her belongings, Mina was fanning her with a spa pamphlet, Amy was rifling through a book about childbirth as quickly as she could, trying not to skip the gorier details should she need them, Sonia was holding her hand for support, telling her all she knew about labour and giving birth, Magenta was supplying Blaze with ice cubes to suck on and Rouge was checking her manicure.

"All you have to do is breathe and do whatever feels natural. Listen to your body," said Sonia.

"Why did I have to read the birthing book?" Amy complained.

"Shut it, Pinky, and read!" Rouge bossed.

Blaze reached the receptionist.

"Hello there. My name is Blaze Darkwood the Cat and, well, I have a baby coming out of me."

"Okay. Have you started any contractions?" asked the receptionist.

"Not yet, but I hear they really hurt. Do they?" Blaze demanded. The receptionist shuffled.

"Well..."

"Oh, my Lord!" Blaze cried, going into a panic.

"Blaze, Blaze, relax!" said Sonia, squeezing her hand. "It's going to be fine."

"Can you issue her a private room?" asked Amy.

"We can indeed – I think we have one more available," said the receptionist.

"Great!" said Amy.

"And it's a deluxe suite," said the receptionist.

"What does that mean, Miss?" asked Cream.

"It means it's both a labour room and a delivery room simultaneously, and it has a bathroom equipped with a birthing pool, a special TENS machine – everything you need."

"Fantastic!" said Amy.

"It's six thousand a night," added the receptionist.

Amy and Cream gulped.

"That's okay!" Amy managed. "Just as long as she gets a room to herself, right, Blaze?"

"Just get me a damn room!" Blaze hissed as Magenta ran an ice cube over her forehead. "It's too hot a day to have a baby."

Their party was joined by the guys, who flooded into the room, near packing the reception entrance.

"We got your call!" Silver gasped.

"We came as soon as possible!" Ember gasped also.

"What happened?" Sonic asked.

"Her water broke," Mina gushed. "We had just come out of the hydrotherapy room and she just..."

"Gave us a different kind of hydrotherapy," Rouge completed, filing her nails. "Unfortunately, it cut the aroma therapy completely off the menu, but..."

Silver rushed to his wife.

"Honey! Hey! How are you? Have I missed anything?"

At the sight of her husband, Blaze burst into tears.

"Blaze? Oh, my baby," Silver murmured against her lavender fur as he held her.

"What's wrong, Blaze?" Cream asked, finding herself affected emotionally by her best friend's breakdown.

"I guess it's all a bit overwhelming for her..." said Sonia.

"Where the hell were you when there was stuff coming out of me?!" Blaze shrieked through hysterical tears to her husband.

"Oh, baby, I'm sorry," said Silver, hugging her again. "I'm so, so sorry."

The rest of the crowd were so stunned by Blaze's uncharacteristic outburst that they all stood in stunned silence, unaware that a nurse had arrived with a wheelchair for her.

"Ma'am?" she asked nervously.

Blaze's head shot up, and she stopped crying all at once. "Oh, good – comfort."

Silver stood in front of the bachelorette party as Sonia and Cream helped her into the chair.

"What do we do now?" he asked frantically.

"Hey, man, relax," said Sonic.

"Don't tell me to relax, Sonic – my wife is having my baby!" he snapped.

"Silver," said Sonia. "It's going to be okay – she hasn't even started contractions yet."

"How do I know it's gonna be okay?!" Silver spluttered.

"Mobius to Silver!" said Tails. "She's fine! Look at her!"

"_Look at her?!_ She's got _water_ coming out of her! _And it isn't even real water!_"

"Silver, you keep conversing with these gentlemen – I'm going to go and have a baby," said Blaze as she was pushed down a corridor with Cream and Sonia. Silver near jumped out of his skin and followed them down the corridor.

"Jeez, that guy is so neurotic!" Sonic groaned as he fell into a nearby couch.

"What are we to do now?" asked Ember. "Is my baby sister going to be okay?"

"She's going to be fine," said Mina reassuringly. "She wasn't in any pain when we left. If there's anything wrong now, it would become apparent very soon."

"So we sorta left the party for nothing, right?" said Knuckles. Everyone turned and stared at him. Eventually, he bowed his head in shame.

"Well," said Rouge importantly. "I think it's down to only closest friends, brothers and lovers of the one who is due to have a baby to stay here. The rest of us can all go home and make love."

"Make love?" Sonic laughed.

"Yeah, to your 'virgin' bachelorette," Rouge snarled as she headed out the door.

Sonic zipped over to his fiancée. "So, babe? Do you wanna stay or do you wanna go?"

"I don't know, Sonic," said Mina. "I thought I might as well stay and see how Blaze gets on. When your water breaks, there's no going back."

"I'll stay," said Tails. "Cream obviously will."

"Well, I have to go," said Knuckles. "Those chaos aren't the best of Master Emerald guardian substitutes." He headed out the door.

"My little nephew or niece could be born tonight," Ember said, as if he had just come to that revelation. "My little baby nephew or niece!"

"Save your tears, kitty," said Shadow, heading out the door. "It might not be."

"You're not gonna stay?" said Amy.

"Why should I? It's not my kid."

"I think I'm gonna stay," said Magenta. "If I can, I'll see how this whole thing works."

"What whole thing?" asked Manic.

"The whole...birth thing. You know."

"Ew, why?"

Magenta shrugged. "Might be interesting."

Manic gave her a suspicious eye. Although Magenta had often shown enthusiasm for babies and children, she was never as enthusiastic on seeing giant baby heads protruding from a writhing, bleeding female.

"I'll stay if Magenta and Amy wanna stay," said Mina.

"Me?" asked Amy. She was staring after Shadow. "I don't know..."

"Stay," said Sonic, smiling.

"What?"

"You might as well. To make up for the rest of your bachelorette party."

"Make up for my bachelorette party here?" Mina asked.

"Sure, why not?" said Sonic, leading her to sit beside him on the couch. "How many other people will get to say 'I spent my bachelorette party at the hospital while my friend had her baby'?"

Mina smiled.

"You're crazy," she said, and kissed him.  
_

* * *

In the delivery room, Sonia and Cream aided Blaze with the process of labour while Silver tried to remain calm in a chair in the corner.

"The main thing is to focus on the end goal," said Sonia as she fluffed Blaze's pillow. "The pain is nothing. Every contraction is just one step further to having a baby."

"This is so exciting!" said Cream. "In a few hours, you could have a little baby!"

"I know," said Blaze. "Silver? Where's my hospital bag?"

Silver's eyes widened. "Ohh, shit...!"

Before Blaze could get angry, Sonia dashed out. "I'll get Ember to go home and get it!"

"Can anything go right tonight?" Blaze groaned. Then she stiffened, her eyes rounded. "Oh, God, save me."

"What?" asked Cream.

"I'm having my first contraction."

Silver was by his wife's side in a millisecond. Blaze tensed, then softened.

"Oh, it's not that bad."

"Phew!" said Silver.

"How many centimetres are you dilated?" asked Cream.

"Well, just the one," said Blaze. "It's gonna be a long night."


	18. Alive

_**Yes! Yes! Ohhhh yes! Chapter 18 at last! Sorry the wait has been so long - I've been incredibly stuck with writer's block (which is a pain in the bum, btw). Long story short, here's the chapter at last! Enjoy!**_

* * *

Two days later, Blaze was still only nine centimetres dilated – and extremely cranky. Cream, Silver and Ember stayed by her side as doggedly as the midwife. Barely any sleep at all. Everyone else had opted for a decent night's sleep at home and were kept updated by Silver's texting or facebook statuses.

**Silver 'Dark'Wood' the H3dgehog**

_Sunday via Blackberry_

Daddyhood awaits! I'M GONNA BE A DAD ANYTIME SOON! X

_Tails Prower, Mina Mongoose and 57 others like this_

_View all comments (62)_

** Mario **Mio Dio! Un altro ruccio fastidioso per la strada! ;)

_Sunday 1 Like_

** Luigi **Lo so! E terrible!

_Sunday 1 Like_

** Sonic Olgilvie the HedgeGod **Voi ragazzi siete tanto divertente. Smettere di fare gioco di noi.

_Sunday_

** Luigi **scusa ^^

_Sunday_

** Amy Rose **Sonic, you speak Italian?

_Sunday_

** Sonic Olgilvie the HedgeGod **I guess I do :P

_Sunday_

** Big the Cat **You were...pregnent? :/

_Sunday 12 Likes_

** Ellie Deeptrun the Wolf **Ohmygodohmygodohmygod! CONGRATS! :D

_Sunday 1 Like_

** Theo 'Bonerhead' the Fox **I CALL GODFATHER

_Sunday 4 Likes_

** Bingo the Cat ** Theo 'Bonerhead':No way, dude. Hands off! XD

_Sunday 5 Likes_

** Theo 'Bonerhead' the Fox **:'(

_Sunday 7 Likes_

** Ellie Deeptrun the Wolf **lol

_Sunday 2 Likes_

** Tina Faradson (Wolf) **Woo, congratulations! Xx Big: Durr? ;)

_Sunday 3 Likes_

** Jet HAWKesome **kl

_Sunday_

** Shade the Echidna **Great :) Keep us updated. Good luck to you both!

_Sunday 1 Like_

** Aleena Olgilvie the Hedgehog **Good luck! You're both going to be terrific parents! Many blessings x

_Sunday __5 Likes_

* * *

**Silver 'Dark'Wood' the H3dgehog**

_Yesterday at 15:26 via Blackberry_

Okayyyy...still no baby.. XD

_Shade the Echidna and Amy Rose like this_

_View all comments (34)_

** Magenta Darcy the Mink **Dangg :/ The miricle of birth sure is a slow one!

_Yesterday at 15:34 via Blackberry_

** Sonia Hansel the Hedgehog **Was just about to come up and see you. Is everything ok? X

_Yesterday at 15:36_

** Silver 'Dark'Wood' the H3dgehog **Everything seems to be alright. It's just taking a helluva long time! Lol, pls come up and see us! I'm starting to see gigantic chaos with octopus tentacles. God, I'm tired XD

_Yesterday at 15:57 via Blackberry_

** Aleena Olgilvie the Hedgehog **Speaking as a mother of triplets, the best advice I can give is not to panic. Sometimes these things take time – a lot of time. The thing you've got to remember is that Blaze's body is going at its own pace, regardless of convenience. After all, it's hard work getting a baby out of your body. So relax, because she knows exactly what she's doing :)

_23 hours ago 1 Like_

** Silver 'Dark'Wood' the H3dgehog **Thanks, Mrs Q :)

_23 hours ago via Blackberry_

** Aleena Olgilvie the Hedgehog** No problem :) Also, make sure she's getting lots of fluids so she doesn't get dehydrated and help her go to the restroom regularly. The baby and her body are already doing a lot of work, so the last thing the both of them need is a full bladder or a colonic obstruction getting in the way of the birth canal.

_23 hours ago_

** Charmy Bee **TMI, your highness XD

_23 hours ago_

** Aleena Olgilvie the Hedgehog **What? It's true! In my experience, having a full bladder against a queue of babies you're trying to push out into the world is very uncomfortable! I had to relieve myself repeatedly before I could have my first (Sonia) and often, I didn't even have time to go to the restroom! Having a baby is a lot of hard and dirty work.

_23 hours ago_

** Sonic Olgilvie the HedgeGod **TMI!

_22 hours ago 2 Likes_

** Conker the Squirrel **my cat can eat a whole watermelon...

_20 hours ago_

** Silver 'Dark'Wood' the H3dgehog **...wtf?

_5 hours ago via Blackberry_

* * *

**Silver 'Dark'Wood' the H3dgehog**

_3 hours ago via Blackberry_

7cms dilated. Almost there :)

_Magenta Darcy the Mink likes this_

_Comments (7)_

** Tails Prower **It's taking longer than I thought.

_3 hours ago_

** Silver 'Dark'Wood' the H3dgehog **Yeah, a little.

_3 hours ago_

** Tails Prower **Nervous?

_3 hours ago_

** Silver 'Dark'Wood' the H3dgehog **Yeah, a little.

_3 hours ago_

** Tails Prower **Wanna go for a plane ride?

_3 hours ago_

** Silver 'Dark'Wood' the H3dgehog **PLEASE

_3 hours ago 1 Like_

** Conker the Squirrel **i like trains.

_3 hours ago_

* * *

**Silver 'Dark'Wood' the H3dgehog**

_57 minutes ago via Blackberry_

Raging hormones + contractions + drug treatment + slow baby – sleep = cranky wife.

Cranky wife – sleep – real food = cranky Silver.

I'm so exhausted I'm doing math.

_Charmy Bee, Amy Rose and 2 others like this_

_Comments (1)_

** Conker the Squirrel **i know a song that will get on your nerves, get on your nerves, get on your nerves...

_15 minutes ago_

* * *

_Recent Activity_

**Silver 'Dark'Wood' the H3dgehog** has blocked **Conker the Squirrel**

* * *

Manic and Magenta found it in Blaze's best interest to go and visit her. They were surprised they were allowed to. Less surprised when they walked in on Blaze hissing at her husband.

"Don't tell me what to do!"

Manic and Magenta made their presence known. Blaze had slumped back in her bed. She looked bigger somehow – more swollen – and absolutely drained of energy. Even the gem in her forehead had lost its glow. Cream was the only one still looking a little bit perky. The parents of the newly-arriving child were pale with sleep deprivation and their voices croaked with sheer lack of rest.

"Hey, Blaze," Magenta said kindly, taking the cat's hand.

"Hey," she sighed. She had even dropped her formal tone.

"I'm so sorry this is taking so long."

"If it helps, we brought you some doughnuts as we passed the Dunkin' Donut Diner," said Manic, holding out a large box which Silver immediately grabbed, salivating like a bloodhound.

"How'd you feel?" asked Magenta.

"Starvin'," said Silver.

"I meant Blaze."

Blaze groaned. "You know that feeling when you're waiting for a Saint Bernard to blast out of your ass?"

Cream shuddered. Magenta guessed she wasn't used to Blaze being as informal as she was now.

"I've heard it's like being really, really constipated," said Magenta.

"Madge, I'm constipated already and I got what feels like a watermelon and a half coming outta my vagina," Blaze shot back. "Trust me, you can't possibly imagine."

Magenta cringed. She was trying to.

"Well, if it helps, you look great," said Magenta, trying to sound helpful.

"It looks like that scene from _Alien_," Manic said. "You know – where the alien comes outta the guy's stomach."

Blaze scowled.

"I have a bit of bad news, Blaze," said Cream, stepping forward carefully.

"What now?" Blaze snapped.

"Well..." Cream looked very nervous. "It's your midwife. She's not coming today."

"Why not?"

"Well, apparently, she slipped on spilt coffee in the staffroom this morning and slipped a disk in her spine."

"Oh, my God, she is so stupid!" Blaze growled. Then she clenched her teeth. "Oh, no!"

"Okay, here we go," Silver said, propping his wife up and groping her hand immediately. Blaze sucked in the air as a powerful contraction gripped her body.

"Ow! Ow! Ow!" she cried.

"Blaze, breathe!" Cream shouted.

"You can do it!" added Magenta.

"God, it hurts!" Blaze screamed, sweat now forming like glass beads on her head.

"Honey, breathe!" Silver ordered.

"Shouldn't we do something?" asked Magenta urgently.

"What? Stick a fork up there and yank it out?" Silver replied sarcastically.

"GET OUT!" Blaze suddenly screeched.

"Yes, baby! Get outta Mommy," said Silver.

"NO! YOU! GET OUT!" Blaze roared, pointing at Silver.

"What? Why?"

"BECAUSE I'M TRYING TO GET A PERSON OUT OF MY BODY AND YOU'RE NOT MAKING THINGS ANY EASIER!"

Dumbfounded, Cream, Magenta and Manic dragged Silver out of the room before he could argue. Out in the hallway, they were met with a dozen loud protests from Silver.

"That's my girl in there and she's having my baby! Lemme go!"

"Silvs, just relax, man," said Magenta.

"Don't tell me to relax, idiot – my _wife_ is having my _baby_!"

"Silver! That was uncalled for!" Cream yelled, blushing with anger.

"Lemme back in!" Silver screamed desperately, trying to overcome Manic's grip on him. It was no use. Manic had a grip of iron.

"She's more than capable of doing it herself," Cream continued. "You know Blaze – she doesn't like being told what to do. Especially since she knows what she's doing – it's her body."

"I need to be there when that baby comes out!" shrieked Silver frantically. "I'm the father! My baby needs me!" By this point, Ember had been disturbed from his nap in the waiting room and calmly approached his hysterical brother-in-law. Meanwhile, Silver continued to ramble, "How the hell does she know what she's doing?! She needs me!"

"Silver, calm down," Ember ordered sternly. "Or you know what will happen."

"I don't _give_ a shit – my baby could be being born without me!"

"Silver," said Ember warningly.

"Oh, fuck, I didn't recharge the video camera!"

_BAM!_

Silver froze, then fell to the floor, unconscious. Ember had just punched him. Cream and Magenta stood nearby, their eyes popping out of their skulls.

"I have never done that before," said Ember, sounding rather bewildered over his own outburst.

"Thanks for that," mumbled Manic. "I thought he'd never shut up."

* * *

At half past six that evening, Manic went missing. Magenta found him twenty minutes later sitting alone in a corridor, staring into space. Her heart broke a little every time she knew he was getting low. She sat next to him. He was, in fact, staring straight ahead through the window of a crèche where rows of tiny newborn infants, from shrews to wolves, lay curled up in their cots, some mewling for their mothers, others sleeping contentedly in their new world. The couple didn't say a word to each other for a long time. Manic continued to stare at them, with a mournful look drawn into his brown eyes.

"They're so clean," he whispered. "So pure. Unhurt."

Magenta smiled delicately. On the inside, she felt her stomach churn. Sonia and Auburn were the only ones who knew. Manic didn't.

"They're so cute, ain't they?" she replied.

Manic managed to smile. Then his eyes glistened with tears of an intoxicating mix of solemnity, melancholy, tranquillity and wonder. Magenta sat and gazed at her lover in awe. How could anyone _feel things_ as much as he did right there and then for a room of newborns? It was incredible. Manic sighed and blinked away the tears. The smile on his face remained, as if determined to hang on to what joy the sight of these small vessels of life gave him.

"Sure do love 'em," he uttered.

"I know you do," said Magenta, radiating with pride for him. Not many guys were like Manic. Manic loved kids. They gave him peace.

"I was thinkin'," he said slowly. "I was thinkin'...what if we get a chao?"

"A chao?" Magenta was suddenly filled with perplexity.

"Yeah. A little chao of our own." Manic looked his lady in the eye. "I think it'll be good for me."

"How'd you mean?" asked Magenta.

"Well, I have you, right? And I swear if I weren't so screwed in the head, I would take better care of you."

"Manic," Magenta smiled. "You already do."

"Bullshit," said Manic. "You take care of me. That's the way it goes. I don't take care of myself, so why don't we get a chao? Something for us both to look after? It might help."

"You really think getting a chao would help you?"

"Well, livin' with you ain't no chore. Maybe we should get something that will be. I mean, don't take this the wrong way, babe, but though seeing your face when I wake up makes me feel at peace, it doesn't get me outta bed in the morning. I need a project. Take care of something and make sure it doesn't die. I'll feed it, clean up after it... "

"Manic," interrupted Magenta. She felt her heart racing. "I need to talk to you."

"What? You don't want a chao?"

"No, no, that's a lovely idea, but..."

An excited wolverine rounded the corner. In his arms he carried a small male wolverine. The former stopped in front of the window and pointed out a baby inside the room. This sent the offspring into an ecstatic daze as he gazed in at his new sibling for the first time. Manic and Magenta smiled at them as Magenta led Manic to a more secluded area of the hospital.

"It's kind of ironic when you think about it," Manic muttered. "While we're sitting here being happy about people being born, at the same time on the other end of this building, there are people dying. And we don't even know their names."

"It's okay," Magenta soothed, holding his hands.

"I know it's okay, babe," said Manic, with an air of serenity. His inner turmoil was under control. That's all Magenta needed to have her fully prepared for what she had to say next. She took a deep breath.

"Are you ready?" asked Magenta.

"For what?"

"I have to tell you something."

"What is it?"

"Guess."

Manic smiled. "I despise guessing games."

"I know you do," Magenta smiled back.

"Is it something to do with the band?"

"No."

"Something to do with cola?"

Magenta giggled. "No."

"Then what?"

Magenta paused. She could feel her heart fluttering. She felt a little faint. Then she almost laughed. "It's funny – I'm telling you this as Blaze is bringing her own little person into the world."

"Telling me what, babe?" asked Manic.

Magenta paused again. How do you put this? She felt herself beginning to shiver with anticipation.

"We can't have a chao," she said slowly. Manic's face fell slightly. Magenta inhaled deeply. "We're gonna have a baby instead."

Manic hesitated in unadulterated astonishment. "We're...what?"

Magenta stared earnestly into his eyes. Manic stammered, unbalanced, unable to put this into perspective.

"So you're...?" he staggered. "Um...oh my God..."

"I'm seven weeks along, angel," said Magenta, wondering if that would help. "It even has a heartbeat now."

Manic closed his eyes. He looked as if he was trying to summon up the courage to lock himself in a guillotine. He opened his eyes. Still shocked.

"You're pregnant?" he whispered.

Magenta didn't need to answer. It was written all over her anxious face. Manic turned away.

"Oh, shit..." he murmured, massaging the inner corners of his eyes with his hand. Magenta couldn't tell if he was disappointed or happy. It distressed her terribly.

"I'm sorry!" she suddenly blurted out, tears running down her face. "This is probably the worst time to have one! I wish you were on top of whatever's going on in your head and I've done nothing but freak about this ever since I found out! I didn't know how the hell to tell you! If we could have planned this better, I'm sure we would've, but the fact is, we're gonna have a baby. And I'm _so_ scared. But so...so happy." She choked on her tears. Manic was still motionless – a statue of shock. Then, momentarily, he descended into a chorus of quiet sobs, burying his face in his hands. Magenta came round to face him. It was the pinnacle of every nerve-wracking thing she'd ever done in her life. Suddenly, unconventionally, a song started flaring up in the back of her mind. _The Crash._

"_Darling, you have got to let me knowww...Should I stay or should I gooo?..._"

_That damn song. Why that song?_

"Manic?" she said softly.

Then, through his tears, he uttered the most precious words he had ever thought he would say – they were erupting from deep down in his wasted soul like a volcanic overflow of beautiful happiness and amazing, beautiful love.

"I'm gonna be a daddy."

He let his tears overtake him. As did Magenta. They huddled together at the side of the corridor, both of them crying tears of utmost joy. It was the most special kind of joy. For Magenta, it was the wonderful relief and empowerment of knowing everything was okay. For Manic, it was the first time in a long time now that he had felt well and truly thankful for being alive.

* * *

**_I'm such a sap XD_**


	19. Fiyero

_**Okay, here we go, it's about to get a little graphic. But I have this weird thing about birth scenes. I have to go into detail because it's a pretty momentous moment. Anyway, I'm unlikely to update regularly because I've now started college and likely to be busy. However, I promise to keep going with this little tale and I'm so, so, so pleased that I have a few faithful followers out there and I thank you so much for sticking this through until now :) You guys really do make my day. Without further ado, Chapter 19**_

* * *

Blaze curled up on the floor in agony. Lying on the bed had given her back pain, so now she was on a bed of pillows on all fours, battling the excruciation flooding her body. Cream had returned to her side, mopping her brow with a cold, damp cloth. Blaze panted, in too much pain to cry out any longer.

"That's it, Blaze, just breathe deeply," Cream encouraged as best as she could. "The doctor is on the way."

Blaze felt she needed to argue with this, but the overwhelming pain inside her was too much. It gripped her, like a huge, burning fist, around her rounded belly, forcing all of her energy and mind into pushing against it. Oh, but she couldn't! She wasn't dilated ten centimetres yet! And why? After all this time? Why was it taking so long? After a few more seconds, the pain curled up and rested once again, though still burning, in the pit of Blaze's womb.

"Next contraction in forty seconds," said Cream. "How you doing?"

Blaze hissed. She had never felt so _exhausted_. And she wasn't even pushing yet.

Suddenly, the door opened. It was Tails. Cream straightened up in surprise. The pair stared at each other, Tails suppressing a smile.

"Cream?" he said.

"Hello, Tails," Cream said softly. She couldn't hide it. She was glad to see him.

"May I speak to you for a minute?"

Cream turned to Blaze for permission to leave. She hardly needed it. Blaze liked her independence. Cream approached Tails. He took her hand and led her out of the room. He dragged her into a private area – one of the few places of the floor where you couldn't hear birthing mothers groaning or screaming or swearing at their husbands.

"Tails, what's the matter?" asked Cream.

"Why is it taking so long?" asked Tails in turn.

"I don't know," Cream sighed. "There's nothing wrong, it's just going very slowly. But we're almost there – she's almost ready." Tails sighed heavily. He looked troubled. "Why? What's the matter?"

"Well..." Tails began. Then he took a deep breath and started over. "Listen. I was gonna surprise you, but I didn't know Blaze was gonna go into labour now and less still did I think it was gonna take this long..."

"What is it?" asked Cream expectantly.

Tails flicked one of his glossy, long tails around and rummaged around inside the fur. He retrieved what looked like two tickets.

"The ballet starts at eight tonight. But I guess it's too late now."

Cream flushed. She felt her eyes peeling wide.

"Oh, Tails," she whispered, smiling a smile that made Tails' insides melt. "That's so thoughtful of you."

"I thought you'd like it," said Tails. "I just wanted you to know how much you mean to me. Even if I suck at showing it sometimes."

Cream threw her arms around her love. It caught him slightly off-guard.

"No matter how badly you mess up, Tails, I won't stop loving you," she said. "I hope you know how much you mean to me."

Tails instinctively hugged her tightly back. He even picked her up and squeezed her, making her giggle. After he put her down, he said: "So, I guess the ballet is off the menu."

"Looks like it is," Cream sighed. She looked into Tails' eyes. "Thank you, my darling."

Tails blushed and kissed his long-eared angel. At that instant, Silver appeared around the corner, clutching a bag of ice against his jaw.

"I think that sucker loosened a molar," he grumbled.

"What happened to you?" asked Tails.

Silver just glared and went inside the delivery room. Cream turned to Tails, shaking her head.

"Ember knocked him out," she said, smiling mischievously. "He wouldn't stop talking."

"Sounds like Silver, all right," said Tails.

Cream laughed quietly. "I'd better go back in."

"Can I come in too?" Tails asked.

"Are you sure you want to?" said Cream, quizzically.

"Hey, I'm a man now – I can take on anything."

The pair went inside. Blaze now had a basin beneath her which Silver had handed to her just in time, retching into it. Tails couldn't help but notice the copious amount of scarlet-tinted fluids that were dripping from behind her.

"Is that...?" he garbled. But before he could finish, he went rather pale and stumbled out of the room giddily. Cream rubbed Blaze's back as she finished unloading her stomach contents into the bowl.

"Are you okay, Blaze?" she asked.

"She just decided she had to puke," Silver filled in for her. "She was just in the middle of a contraction."

"Blaze, you're gonna be okay," said Cream. "The doctor will be here any second."

Suddenly, Blaze lifted her head and made a strange, loud and long sound. Silver thought it was somewhere in between a screech and a lowing cow. He almost dropped his ice pack.

"Do something!" he spluttered suddenly. "She's bleeding!"

"I know she's bleeding, Silver!" Cream said desperately. "We just have to wait until the doctor gets here—"

"Did somebody order an obstetrician?" said a new but familiar voice in the doorway. Both Cream and Silver whipped around. In came the one and only biological expert of Knothole, Dr Quack.

"Doctor!" Silver yelped through his ice pack. "It's you!"

Quack wasted no time in analysing the situation. He perused some medical records, armed himself with some latex gloves and examined Blaze. Cream had the decency to avert her attention elsewhere.

"Ten centimetres, Mrs Darkwood," he announced. "On the next contraction, I want you to push as hard as you possibly can."

Blaze, though her ponytail was now in strings and the sweat was dripping from her face, felt a new wave of energy upon this news. She took several deep breaths. Then she pushed hard.

"Okay, that's good! Keep going!" said Quack.

Cream knelt in front of her best friend, mopping her brow again. "Here we go, Blaze! You're about to become a mom!"

Blaze barely heard her. She pushed against the pain, trying with all her might to rid it from her body. Minutes passed. Blaze was still pushing. There was still no sign of the baby.

"How are we doing back there?" asked Cream.

Dr Quack had been handling different kinds of tools in the process. Silver had a disgusted but strangely captivated look on his face.

"Well, stuff's come out, but it's not the baby, if you know what I mean!"

"SILVER!" Blaze shrieked. "SHUT UP!"

Cream reeled. She thought it a miracle that Silver had not been barbecued yet.

"Keep pushing, Blaze!" ordered Dr Quack. "You're doing well."

"Why does it feel like nothing's happening?" Blaze moaned.

"It is, Blaze," insisted Cream. "With every push, you're bringing yourself closer to being a mother."

"GODDAMN IT!" Blaze screeched and resumed pushing.

More minutes passed. Even Cream was now starting to wonder if things were really supposed to be as slow as this, despite Sonia's reassurance that it always takes longest with the firstborn.

"It's coming!" Blaze suddenly cried.

"Yes, I see something," said Dr Quack.

Silver was speculating the art of giving birth from behind his wife, suddenly unable to take his eyes off the sight. It was the most disgusting, sickly and _weirdest_ sight he had ever seen.

"What is that?!" he squirmed.

"It's the baby's head," said Quack. "It's crowning."

Cream couldn't resist looking herself. The sight was more disenchanting than she expected, but she could definitely see something – the crown of a silver-white baby head.

_How the heck was she doing this?_

"Blaze, I can see it! It's definitely coming!" Cream cried happily.

"It hurts!" Blaze wept.

"Somehow that doesn't surprise me," said Silver, cringing at the mysterious, large, protruding shape in his wife's body.

"Okay, Blaze, I want you to stop pushing for a second," Dr Quack commanded. Blaze instantly obeyed, though disgruntled as she was. Cream came round to her best friend again.

"Blaze, honey, you're doing amazingly well! I can see the baby! It's definitely coming!"

"I can feel it," Blaze said weakly, sweat streaming off her face. It was too hot a day to be doing this.

"Okay, Blaze, push!" said Quack. Then Silver and Cream took up the mantra. "Push!" they both cried. Blaze felt herself lighting up with euphoria. She couldn't believe she was so tired before. She suddenly felt so energized, so in control, so excited that she was bringing her baby into the world.

"Oh my God, my wife is having my baby!" Silver cried. "My baby's being born! And it's _silver_!"

"It's a cat," said Quack.

"It's a cat!" repeated Cream to Blaze.

Silver couldn't believe it. The head came steadily through, really taking its time and then – _whoosh _– the rest of the body just seemed to slip out easily as anything – shoulders, stomach – "And it's a boy! It's definitely a boy!" Silver exclaimed loudly – legs, little tiny feet...

...A whole new person.

"It's here!" declared Dr Quack.

And with that, the newborn gave a strong, defiant cry. Blaze heard it. Instantly, a gigantic pull inside her directed her to reach for her child. She lay on her side, panting and weakly searching for her young. Silver helped cut the cord, freeing his baby into his life. A tiny bundle was placed beside Blaze, warm, moist and moving. Silver lay with his wife, his knees soaked in blood, but he didn't care. It was the blood of life. Between them, their baby cried his little tinny wails as he made meek efforts to latch on close to his mother.

"Hey, baby boy," Silver whispered. "It's so great to see you."

"Hello, baby boy," Blaze said hoarsely. Tears were dripping from the corners of her eyes. Silver cried too, unintentional though it was. Cream sat nearby, watching the loving couple with their new baby. She couldn't help herself. She cried. Dr Quack handed her some tissues, which she grabbed gratefully.

"Do we have a name yet?" he asked the couple on the floor.

"No, not yet," said Silver, unable to take his eyes off his son.

"That's okay. For now, it's Baby Boy Darkwood the Cat."

Cream, choking, said she was going out to tell the others. Silver instantly got out his cell and began to dial every number he had. Dr Quack helped Silver bathe the new baby (who calmed down immediately as he felt the water surround him), wrap him up and hand him to Blaze, who was now lying in the bed and modestly clothed in the sheets. She stared down at her son, who opened his eyes and looked straight at her. Honey-golden eyes. No surprises there.

"Hello," Blaze smiled wanly. "I'm your mother. I'm Mommy."

She was cut off by a wave of happy tears. Silver joined her on the bed, admiring his beautiful new son – a silver cat with golden eyes and a sky blue gem on his forehead – whom they called Fiyero.

* * *

"Fiyero?" asked Sonic as he started up the car. He and Mina had just had dinner. He tested out the name. "Fee-_yeah-_ro?"

"It's Italian," said Mina. "It has no English equivalent. It means a euphoric rush of emotions."

Sonic smiled. "That sounds perfect."

"It does," Mina agreed.

"How did you get so smart?" asked Sonic as they drove out of the neighbourhood.

Mina shrugged. "I read a lot."

Sonic shook his head, grinning. "I can't believe I'm marrying you."

Mina giggled.

"You know what? Me neither," she said. "Sonic the Hedgehog the husband – the oxymoron of the century. How on Mobius did I get you to do this?"

"By being you," said Sonic, flashing a loving smile her way. Mina couldn't help blushing. She loved that he could silence her with his charm. Anybody else she would have marked off as a pretentious flatterer. But Sonic? He never said things like that. He never said things like that unless he was truly in love. And Mina was completely enamoured with the fact that she had that effect on him.

* * *

"Silver, he's gorgeous!" Sonia gasped.

"He looks just like you, too – apart from the whole cat thing," said Amy.

"He's precious," sighed Mina.

"That's my little nephew!" Ember beamed, glowing with pride.

"That's one cool little dude," said Manic.

"He's so cute I wanna pull off his little nose and use it as a sucking candy," said Magenta, achieving some strange looks from her peers. "But I won't."

Blaze was in the recovery room, resting. The gang (Sonia, Auburn, Manic, Magenta, Sonic, Mina, Amy, Cream, Tails and Ember) were peering in at baby Fiyero as he lay sleeping in the crèche.

"You did it, man," said Sonic, punching Silver on the arm. "You became a dada. How d'ya feel?"

Silver paused. "Pretty weird," he said. "It doesn't feel real yet."

"It will," said Auburn. "Once you've had less than four hours of sleep a week and got puke running down your..."

"Ahem," Sonia cut in. Auburn shut up.

"Congratulations, man," said Sonic to Silver.

"Thanks."

"Oh! Oh, look! He's moving!" Magenta cried.

"Awwww!" they all chorused.

"He is a beautiful little baby," Cream declared.

"He lit my Tails on fire," Tails complained, but couldn't help smiling.

"He's got that fiery streak from his mom," Ember laughed. "I shall teach him well as he grows."

"Hey, is now an appropriate time to tell you guys that I sold another six pieces of art to the gallery today or will the new baby just steal my thunder?" asked Auburn. The gang was quiet. A couple turned to Auburn, annoyed that he had broken the adorable atmosphere.

"No?" he said, innocently fiddling with his glasses. "Okay."

And they continued to look in at baby Fiyero until they got bored and went home. That took quite a long time.


	20. APOLOGIES

**APOLOGIES**

While it is so friggin obvious that I am the most organised, most distinguished and most revered professional fanfiction writer this world has EVER seen (more sarcasm, anyone?), I regret to announce that I will no longer be continuing this fanfiction.

TOTALLY JOKING.

I most definitely AM carrying on with this baby! I'm just a major slowpoke. I have been more so over the past few months for various reasons leading me not to update for a few months. My most sincere apologies. Writer's block, college, a screwed heart and a screwed brain can get in the way sometimes :P

As my own personal act of contrition, the next chapter I post will be LONG. And for BlackPetals23 - a little bit of that stuff. You know what I'm talking about ;D

On the other hand, I don't know if that's a positive or a negative - a really, really super long chapter to make up for my cruddiness of keeping you all updated with how the Sonic gang are doing in my own little dim-witted mind. Well, whichever, I will update soon.

I promise xox

Peace x

And happy 2013 to everyone :)


	21. One Day More

_**Chapter 20 - AT LAST! This is dedicated to all the Les Miserables fans out there (movie coming out in TEN FRIKKIN DAYS! I'm not excited at all)! Sorry once again for the long wait. Here's the super long chapter as promised :D Also, I've added a Meat Loaf song in it because I always thought I could lose a fan or two ;) It's a beautiful song. Look it up. It's called "Couldn't Have Said it Better". Personally, I think it fits Mina. I apologise if this is sloppily written in places. Enjoy, guys! :D**_

* * *

Their bottles of beer clinked.

"One more day," declared Knuckles.

"Less," said Sonic. "A day is twenty-four hours. We're looking at something like twenty-two hours and..." he checked his watch. "Fifty-eight minutes."

"Here's to that," said Knuckles, swigging his beer. Sonic did the same. "You nervous?"

Sonic answered too quickly. "Not me." He then got up, left the Guardian's kitchen and called up the stairs. "Honey, are you ready yet?"

Mina called back down. "Don't be callin' me 'honey' yet, young man! There's still twenty-two hours and fifty-seven minutes to go!"

"Really? I make it fifty-eight minutes!"

"You make it wrong!"

Knuckles smiled and rolled his eyes. It was kind of cute that they were both counting down.

"Yeah well, your face makes it wrong!" Sonic called back.

There was a brief pause, Sonic snorting with hushed laughter. Then Mina responded, her voice thick with mock-threat.

"You're lucky I'm still putting my shoes on or I will walk all over your epic cobalt ass!"

"Love you!" Sonic called back, met with a sarcastic grunt from upstairs.

Sonic retreated to the kitchen, bottle in hand.

"How long does it take for a woman to put her shoes on?" he asked.

"Easy there, junior," said Knuckles with a grin. "In twenty-two hours and fifty-seven minutes, you'll be stuck with that woman for life."

Sonic felt his stomach twist. He swore it was unnatural.

"I know," he said. His mind was in conflict. He didn't know if smiling and sweating was supposed to happen at the same time. To his chagrin, Knuckles was more observant than Sonic liked to admit and noticed his discomposure.

"Sonic," he said in a lower voice. "Don't sweat it. All you have to do is walk down an aisle."

_And agree to be mutually attached to one person and be on your best behaviour for her forever and ever and ever forever_, Sonic thought alarmingly.

"You wait til it's your turn," Sonic replied. "Then we'll see who's got it easy. There was a stall selling chilli dogs at half the regular price at the market today – I walked _right past it_."

"That bad, huh?" asked Knuckles with a sort of kindly smirk.

Sonic gulped down the remainder of his beer. Then he looked his scarlet friend dead in the eye.

"I haven't slept in six months," he said in a forceful whisper.

Knuckles didn't really know how to respond, so he said, also in a whisper: "That's a long time."

"I can't do it, Knuckles," Sonic continued, almost feverishly. Beads of perspiration were beginning to formulate on his brow. "The anticipation is killin' me! I mean, I know I asked to spend the rest of my life with her and goddamn it, I _want_ to, because I _love_ her, but the whole run-up to the event, the whole journey to this next day...this one next day...to prove to her that I'm worthy to be her freaking _husband_...it's _got_ to me, man! It's way past surreal. Way past not normal. Way past...everything!"

Sonic's recent attitude was very confusing to Knuckles. Did Sonic want to spend the rest of his life with Mina? Really? He assumed so, otherwise he wouldn't have asked her. Then why all of this contradictive behaviour? Nevertheless, Knuckles tried to humour the situation.

"Hey, in a way, you're lucky you don't have a big scary father-in-law to appease to like most guys."

"_Not helping_!" Sonic hissed. "I don't care about pleasing anyone else – the only person I have to please is her. And maybe...there's a chance that maybe...maybe I just can't do that..." He trailed off, looking eerily vacant.

"Sonic, don't tell me you're about to walk out on her," Knuckles said, trying to laugh and failing.

"Pressure! That's what it is – pressure! Pressure to please just _one person_ never seemed so _hard_! I don't know how much more of this I can take."

"Sonic, relax – it's just one more day, one last hurdle."

"Yeah, well that's easy for you to say." Sonic ran both hands down his quills. Then he spilled the beans. "There's a reason why marriage has never been my style – it's not for me, it's for her."

Knuckles leant in closer and a suggestion of accusation tinged his voice. "Exactly. This isn't about you. This is about Mina and how much you love her."

Sonic took a breath and held it. When he spoke, it was more controlled, but darker. "Not a human or hedgehog on this planet that could make me change my mind, bud. Once I've made up my mind."

Someone in the doorway cleared her throat. The men turned and saw a modest-looking, purple-haired mongoose wearing a long, sleek black dress. Matched with the engagement necklace, she was a picture of elegance. She even had a bride's blush.

"Ah. Here comes the bride," said Knuckles.

"Hey, beautiful," said Sonic. All of a sudden, he had transformed back to the cool and collected character he normally was, flashing his million-dollar smile.

"It's a night at the opera, right?" asked Knuckles, fiddling with the purple bow tie he had gotten himself into.

"Close," said Mina. "We're going to see _Les Miserables _at The Casino Royale Theatre."

"Casino Royale, I swear I've heard that name before," said Knuckles. "Wasn't it a book or something?"

"Don't ask me, I'm just going for the chilli dogs," said Sonic. He walked up to Mina and slid his hands around her waist. "And because my beautiful bride loves musicals."

"Look at you looking handsome," Mina smiled, fondling the deep red tie her beloved was wearing.

"I've made an effort for this evening," Sonic said softly, his forehead against hers.

"I'm gonna start the car up," said Knuckles. "We're taking my car, right?"

"Sure thing, Knuckles," said Sonic, and Knuckles slid out through the back door.

"I'm so glad you and Knuckles are friends again," said Mina.

"Well, I had to kick some hard butt to get an apology outta him, but I got there."

"No doubt," Mina whispered.

Sonic kissed her. And kissed her again. What perfume was she wearing? It smelled so good. Sonic kissed her chin and jaw, making his way downward. Mina closed her eyes and leant her head against his in an aphrodisiacal daze.

"We're gonna be late for the show," she murmured.

Sonic pressed himself into her, absorbing every element of her that he could.

"I don't care," he whispered as he held her. There was a moment's pause. "Baby, I'm not gonna lie, this has been such a stressful past few months." As he spoke, he had his fiancée's undivided attention. "You know how they say things never turn out the way you want them to? I just want tomorrow to be everything for you. I want it to be everything you've ever wanted. I know it's down to the bride to be bridezilla and whatnot, but I don't know how I could forgive myself if I don't provide everything you've ever wanted."

The tip of Mina's nose grazed Sonic's.

"You've been more of a bridezilla than anyone I know," she said lightly. Sonic smiled wanly. "And you're being too obsequious."

"Whatever the hell that means," Sonic sighed with a smile.

"Sonic," said Mina. "Everything I could ever want is right here."

A flash of anger ignited in the pit of Sonic's stomach. She was kidding, surely? No bride doesn't want a big wedding and a happily ever after. Sonic didn't know if he could live up to that standard and what's more, he didn't know if he even wanted to try anymore.

_To try is to fail._

He kissed his fiancée on the forehead. "I love you – that's all."

* * *

"This had better be good," muttered Rouge as she took her place in the auditorium. "We could have just as easily gone to see _Chicago_."

"You would wish that, wouldn't you?" Shadow sneered beside her. "At least you can sit through a musical."

Rouge tossed her head back a little self-righteously in Shadow's eyes. "If you hate these things so much, why'd you come here?"

"Somebody's gotta watch the kid," said Shadow.

"The kids aren't coming," said Rouge. "Silver and Blaze are tied down with a one-week-old and Sonia and Auburn are taking the kids to the rehearsal dinner at The Mystic Resort later."

"Not those kids," Shadow growled slightly. Was Rouge playing dumb with him?

However, she didn't have time to answer because at that moment, the lights had gone down and the crowd hushed immediately.

And then the music began. Whatever contempt anyone in the auditorium felt for musicals, they had been pushed aside by a powerful overture.

"Look down! Look down! Don't look 'em in the eye! Look down! Look down! You're here until you die!"

As the dramatic melody continued in the prologue of the musical, Sonic stole a look at Mina by his side. It was only a minute or so into the show and she was pinned down in her seat, eyes wide, playing absent-mindedly with her engagement necklace. He thought it was cute. He could almost feel her heart hammering inside her chest. Music had such a powerful hold on her.

Mina's inner musical theatre geek came in her pants when Simon Bonham the Albatross fronted the stage as Jean Valjean. He had such a voice. Queen Aleena had to restrain herself from singing along as the beautiful Ruthie Rabbit sang the classic "I Dreamed a Dream". By this point, Cream was crying already. Tails put an arm round her and braced himself. He was told that the play only gets sadder. To Shadow, this was a new experience. He had regularly perceived musicals as fake, fancy flurries of feathers and too-bright lights and sequins and over-sung melodies. This musical was dark. It was nineteenth-century France. It had a fugitive as the main character, a bitter policeman as his rival, poverty, prostitution, drunkenness, thievery, deceit, violence and gore and despite it was a sung-through musical, it NEVER did anything over-the-top and it NEVER left out the dark things like on-stage death – with NO RESSURECTION! At last, a _real_ musical. And Rouge...well, she was just happy that it had a huge number all dedicated to prostitutes. The "Master of the House" sequence earned a barrelful of laughs. Amy became particularly entranced with a petite mouse who played the role of Eponine. A girl who spent her street urchin youth chasing a guy she loved. Heartbroken to see him fall for someone of higher class. Something she could relate to. So she was satisfied.

In short, the musical had something for everyone there and at the end of the first half, the whole group had goosebumps.

"One day more!" they all sang, a dozen different melodies entwining with each other. Sonic felt his fur stand on end. Whichever genius wrote this music should have some sort of international award.

"One more day all on my own!"

Amy wiped a tear away.

"One more day to revolution! We will nip it in the bud! I will join these little schoolboys. They will wet themselves with blood!"

Shadow didn't know who they guy playing that Javert dude was, but still, Shadow could have sworn he grew a pair of ovaries for him.

"Tomorrow will be far away. Tomorrow is the Judgement Day. Tomorrow we'll discover what our God in Heaven has in store! One more dawn...One more day...ONE DAY MORE!"

Crowd orgasm.

* * *

"Didn't I tell you or didn't I tell you?" Sonic said proudly as the lights came up after the first half.

"Best musical ever!" Mina declared. "I'm still shaking!"

"They should have added more lovely ladies..." Rouge mused.

"I can't believe it! It's almost better than _Hairspray_!" Amy squeaked. "And that was just the first half..."

"I gotta give it to ya, Sonic – best thing I've ever seen," Knuckles admitted. "Better than all those dumb phony musicals you see on TV. Better than _Cabaret_, better than _Chicago_, _Moulin Rouge_..."

"Gee, I gotta go to the ladies' room," said Rouge nonchalantly. Knuckles recoiled in pain as she passed noisily by, for some reason. "Before they get packed."

* * *

She wasn't kidding. The queues were enormous.

"Okay, now Mina's gone, what do you _really_ think of the musical?" asked Sonic as he waited in line with Tails. Tails looked a little blank.

"I...really like it so far," he managed. "So...so lemme get this straight. It's about this guy called Jean Valjean. I got that part. He was put in jail because his sister and her kid were starving to death and he stole some bread for them, then he gets his parole, then he becomes rich...somehow – I don't remember how...and then he goes to help his sister and her kid but his sister loses her job and becomes a prostitute..."

"No, that wasn't his sister, that was someone completely different." Knuckles, who had been nursing his foot whilst waiting in the line, caught onto the conversation.

"What?!" said Tails. "Then I really don't get it."

Knuckles sighed and filled him in. "The prostitute is just a different girl who happens to have a kid too and the Valjean guy helps her, but she dies, so he promises to go buy her kid off the drunk guy who's caring for her..."

"...Abusing her," Sonic put in.

"Right, abusing her...then she grows up and there's this other guy..."

"Marius."

"Right, Marius who falls in love with her and this girl who's also in love with this guy..."

"Who is the daughter of the Thenardiers..."

"The who?"

"The innkeeper and his wife."

"Right. So then the daughter of the Thenardiers falls for Marius who falls for the daughter of the prostitute who died..."

"While Valjean is still being pursued by Javert!" said Sonic dramatically.

"Who?!" Knuckles spluttered.

"The cop guy! You know – Two! Four! Six! Oh! One!"

"Right, so Javert is still following him and then the Marius pays the now-adopted daughter of Valjean..."

"Cosette."

"Right, Cosette is visited by Marius, but some robbers show up..."

"And Valjean thinks it's Javert who has found his hiding place at last, so he plans to take Cosette away to England before he can be discovered, separating Cosette from Marius forever!"

"Okay, do YOU wanna tell the story?" Knuckles retorted.

Tails, whose eyes were flitting to and fro like he was watching a ping-pong match, suddenly interjected: "Okay! I get it! It's a very, very long story."

"Not long now until the epic conclusion," said Sonic with an air of mystery.

"Which is...?" said Knuckles.

"They all go to war and they all get killed."

A beat.

"What the hell?!" Knuckles started.

"What for?!" cried Tails.

"The French Revolution," said Sonic as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

Knuckles and Tails both stared.

"Most random conclusion ever," said Tails.

"Man, I ain't gonna enjoy this..." said Knuckles.

* * *

"You were right, Knuckles," said Sonic teasingly to a very wide-eyed echidna later on. "You look like you didn't enjoy that one little bit."

When the gang arrived at The Mystic Resort, an hour and a half of dramatic lighting, shocking gunshots and sorrowful theme songs later, Cream was still crying.

"That poor little boy," she wept. "And Val-Val-Valjean!"

She buried her face in Tails' fur as the engine of their limo hummed its way into its parking space.

"I honestly didn't see that coming," Knuckles pondered.

"Hits home, doesn't it?" Sonic agreed.

"So, in the end, who _didn't_ die?" Rouge demanded, cutting through the mournful atmosphere.

"Uhm..." Queen Aleena mused. "Cosette, Marius, Mr and Mrs Thenardier, and...that's it."

"So! Favourite part?" Mina announced, trying to bring the mood up.

"Javert's suicide," said Shadow without a second's hesitation.

"Master of the House!" Tails cheered. Cream gave a muffled giggle at that.

"Hilarious," Sonic agreed. "Made me never wanna drink a beer again."

"Oh but you will," Rouge smirked. "Tonight's the big night before the big day. It's against the rules not to get hammered."

Sonic's mouth went dry.

* * *

They filed into the grand hotel, greeted by Sonia and her family, Manic and Magenta and a hundred other friends and relatives who were all present to celebrate the wedding. Sonic and Mina were showered with greetings and congratulatory welcomes. The Grecian-themed Mystic Resort hotel overlooked the sun-kissed meadows that rolled leisurely out to the horizon where the sun had begun its glorious descent. The botanical gardens were decked with heroic white statues of mythical gods and maidens and were dotted with fountains and sixteen-inch-deep pools of crystal-clear water. Amy hung back in her little black dress in the large entrance hall, where the big open doors welcomed soothing summer breezes in and she could hear nothing but the faint chatter of the crowd inside the building, the sweet evening song of the birds outside and the click of her heels on the marble floor. She was lost in thought. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't stop thinking about Eponine.

"On my own, pretending he's beside me..." she sang to herself quietly. She didn't know the rest of the words. She sighed and looked out towards the towering gates that they had just entered. She found them more encapsulating than she was comfortable with.

"Have one," said a voice. "They're menthol."

Amy turned. Shadow once again had made a sudden presence. He was offering her an open packet of cigarettes.

"You shouldn't do that," she said sharply.

"What? Sneak up on you?" he said blankly.

_Yes and you shouldn't be as arrogant and pretentious as you clearly are and live in the delusion that you're better than Sonic, you big creep._

"Smoke," Amy replied instead.

"Oh, I don't smoke," Shadow responded with an air that implied he was being a bit of a snarky tease, though his expression didn't register that. He was still holding out the packet. Amy shook her head.

"You didn't wanna join the party?" she asked as Shadow lit his cancer stick and inhaled deeply.

"What party?" he said, blowing out a veil of smoke.

Amy wasn't in the mood for dealing with Shadow while he was being so nonsensically cryptic. Her anger bit at the back of her throat as he stood there so apathetically.

"If you hate parties and weddings so much then why are you here?" she snapped.

"Don't forget the musicals," he grunted, chafing against Amy's prickly mood.

"You go around with this whole 'oh look at me, I'm so non-conformist, I'm so anti-Sonic' attitude and yet here you are at a rehearsal dinner for his wedding."

"It's not a crime," said Shadow.

"Do you realise how dumb that sounds?" Amy demanded. "Why do you contradict yourself so much, oh Mighty Life Form?"

Shadow looked at her in the eye for the first time since he appeared.

"Why are you in such a bad mood?" he asked icily.

Amy scowled and marched over to the other side of the room. Shadow smoked. It was a moment or two before anything was said.

"I'm sorry, Shadow," she mumbled. "It's been a really...really weird day."

"It has been. I went to see a musical."

Amy almost laughed. Then her eyes burned with tears. She turned from Shadow, reluctant to show any further emotion than what had already been displayed.

"If you must know, I'm here because I felt that you needed a shoulder to cry on, for want of a better expression," said the ebony hedgehog. Amy turned around, trying not to let the jab of stun in her stomach front her expression like it was threatening to do. Shadow didn't even look at her. He carried on smoking.

"Y-You're here because of me?" she said slowly.

Shadow shrugged. "Someone has to be."

"It didn't have to be you," Amy said, with a hint of bitterness.

"Better me than Rouge," said Shadow bluntly. "You're welcome, by the way."

"Sorry," Amy sighed. "I feel really stretched out emotionally. This whole wedding thing is tipping me over the edge."

"No doubt," said Shadow, flicking some ash off the end of his cigarette. "Any more compulsive shopping I should know about?"

Amy flushed. "No."

"That's good."

There was a pause. Amy sighed.

"You really shouldn't smoke," she said finally.

"Why not?" asked Shadow.

"Because it can kill you."

Shadow shrugged. "We're all dying anyway."

"You're making it worse, speeding it up."

"It's my life."

"You should quit."

"You should get over that hedgehog."

Amy looked like she had just been slapped. _How dare him! _She considered deflating his big ego with her hammer but she knew he'd dodge it.

A wave of nausea and panic hit her.

Sonic always dodged it. Yet she continued to take a swing at him. Why?

Because it was the only way she could affect him. She could never affect him like _she_ does. The way _she_ speaks to him, laughs, touches, plays and _claims_ him right in front of her very eyes. What made it worse was that Mina had absolutely no foul intention in her. There was no reason for Amy to despise her other than the very fact that she had betrayed her and stolen her knight for herself. And Sonic let her, because she can affect him. With more than a stupid hammer.

There was absolutely no point in attacking Shadow for telling her the brutal truth. There was no point to anything.

Shadow tossed his burned-down cigarette out of the doorway. He just didn't care.

She could feel herself breaking apart inside. Pain tore viciously away inside her, staining her with a deep, black spell of misery and loneliness. Her face crumpled. It took all of her strength not to burst into tears.

Arms came around her. Accompanied by a warm, smoky smell lined with mint.

Amy sank into Shadow's embrace and calmed herself. His arms around her suddenly made her feel like she could keep it together. Nothing was said. Moments drifted past as Amy dragged the agony piece by piece out of her system with deep, cleansing breaths.

"Some people have everything," she murmured into Shadow's fur. To her surprise, it didn't reek of cigarettes. It smelled a little leathery with notes of coffee and men's perfume – soothing. "Don't they?"

"That depends on what you think is worth having," Shadow replied.

Music started up somewhere in the building. The pair turned their heads towards the entrance doors to the main hall. The party had kicked off. Amy broke away, sighing.

"I'm sorry, Shadow," she murmured.

"Hmmm," Shadow mused. "I have a feeling someone's a little hormonal."

Amy stared at him, blushing.

"How did...?" she began, but felt it was futile asking. The guy must have a sixth sense somewhere. "Well, whatever. Sorry I've been a little...a little bitchy."

"No need to apologise, Rose," said Shadow. There was an undertone of warmth to his voice.

"Sorry."

They looked at each other. And she left. Shadow watched her go.

* * *

Alba chased her cousins around the hall, passing by not-overly-impressed Knuckles at the bar.

"Slow down," he told them sternly.

"They're just having fun," said a sultry voice beside him. He turned to see Rouge looking down her nose at him once more. Knuckles snorted. _Typical Rouge._

"You understand the concept of fun?" he grunted. "I would have thought that word wasn't in your vocabulary."

"Honey, I am all about the fun," she said as she turned to the bartender. "Could I get a small martini? Dry, please."

"You're all about the fun?" Knuckles continued with a frown. "Every time we have a conversation, you end up crawling right up my butt – that's not fun for the both of us."

"Ouch," said Rouge. "Somebody's on their man period."

Knuckles swigged his cider self-righteously. To his surprise, once Rouge had her martini, she sat on the stool next to him.

"Listen, Knuckie," she began.

"Knuckles," Knuckles said gruffly.

"Whatever. Knux. Let's chill out for one night. I think you need a time out."

"Oh, I need a time out?" asked Knuckles, rather amused now that Rouge seemed to be stepping down.

"Yeah, you need a time out. You take everything way too seriously. Relax for once. Two of your friends are getting married – at least look like you're enjoying yourself here."

"You know, I actually was enjoying myself before you came along," he said snidely.

Rouge sipped her drink and addressed him with a smirk. "I know."

"Right," Knuckles muttered. The pair sat in awkward silence, sipping their drinks in the most forcibly civilized fashion you could imagine.

"Looks like Amy's date has arrived," said Rouge.

"Hmmm?"

Rouge gestured vaguely over to the door. "The painfully attractive badger with biceps the size of the Monte Crystals."

"How do you know he's her date?"

"The girls thought she could use a shoulder to cry on, so they invited Hunter."

"How insensitive."

"How tactless," Rouge agreed. "Of course, it's a pointless little hat trick. Poor Pinky wouldn't go for anyone other than Sonic. Even if they have eyes like the amethysts of Red Mountain."

"Do you think of anything but jewels?" asked the slightly irritated Knuckles.

Rouge faced him, leering. "Strong words from someone who makes love to an abnormally large emerald every night."

Knuckles inhaled deeply. He decided Rouge had a point. He does take things a bit seriously.

"Boy, you need to get a hobby," he managed to chuckle sardonically, looking towards Amy's suitor.

"I already have one," said Rouge.

Knuckles raised an eyebrow. "And just what might that be?"

"You can't guess? I get all my amusement by winding you up and ticking you off."

Knuckles quickly took a gulp of his cider to think through his reaction.

"Well it works," he said rather sharply.

Again, Rouge smirked. "I know."

Knuckles finished his cider and faced the bat.

"Rouge." Not a question.

"Yes." Also not a question.

"If you want me to enjoy myself tonight, I wanna ask just one thing of you."

"Of course, darling," said Rouge in her sultry tone.

"I would appreciate it if you lay off with the sarcastic remarks and all the sexual innuendos. It's not funny anymore."

"Oh, this is interesting – Knuckles the Echidna, Guardian of the Master Emerald, begging a woman to stop fooling around with him. Anyone would think you batted for the same team."

"What?"

"Sugar..." said Rouge, giggling under her breath. "Anyone would think you're gay."

Knuckles suppressed a blush.

"Whatever. Look. I'm asking you nicely," he said, gritting his teeth slightly. "At least for tonight. Find another way to have fun."

"I can do that," Rouge purred.

Knuckles stared her down for as long as he could. But Rouge could outstare a cat.

"Good," he said finally and finished his cider.

Rouge finished her martini.

"Would you care to dance?" she asked.

"Now what?" Knuckles demanded. "I just asked you to quit fooling around."

"I'm not fooling around. You and I should dance," said Rouge.

Knuckles could smell a rat. Rouge, asking him to dance? When pigs fly.

"I can't dance," said Knuckles, hoping he had made himself clear with that remark.

"I'll teach you," Rouge insisted.

"You're outta your mind," said Knuckles.

Rouge straightened herself up. The next time she spoke, it was through a tightened jaw.

"Knuckles, I'm trying to be nice to you for once. You might as well take advantage of it while you can."

* * *

"So who is this guy?" Amy asked Manic and Magenta as they guided her through the crowd either side of her.

"His name is Hunter," said Magenta.

"He's an attorney," said Manic.

"He's totally gorgeous," said Magenta.

"He's as smooth as butterscotch," said Manic.

"He's got a Ford Magneta 3000," said Magenta.

"And he's got a degree in shiatsu massage," said Manic. He sniffed. "Is it weird that I know that?"

"A little," said Magenta.

"Guys, guys, hold on, let me think this through," Amy protested. "I don't know if I can do this."

"Why not?" asked Magenta.

"I asked you never to set me up with anyone."

"Why not?"

Amy paused. "Ugh. You know."

Magenta stared at her. "Really? You're gonna play that card?"

"It's the only one I've got – I'm just not ready," Amy pleaded. Then she saw him. He _was_ good-looking.

"This isn't like swimming after you eat, Amy. Say hi at least!" urged Magenta.

"Okay! If it will make you stop harassing me!" Amy cried. "How are my teeth?"

"Clear," Magenta confirmed.

"How're my quills, man?" asked Manic.

"God-awful," replied Magenta.

"Awesome. Let's go!"

_Please don't let it be awkward_, Amy prayed silently.

"Hun-TERRRR, mah mayun!" Magenta trilled. "This is the one we've been telling you about! This is Amyyy!"

"Hi," Amy squeaked.

"Well, hello there," said the handsome stranger, taking her by the hand and kissing it. "I expected warm company, but this? This is hot."

"Wow, what a cheesy line," Amy grinned, eyeing Magenta purposefully.

"I know – isn't he great?" she answered shrilly. "So he already knows your name, where you're from, where you graduated and what car you drive."

"But I don't have a...oh," said Amy. Her subconscious facepalmed.

"You both went to Havana for Spring Break – it's so meant to be," Magenta continued. She sounded like a commercial.

_I'm so happy this isn't awkward_, Amy thought to herself.

"Care to dance?" Hunter asked.

"Haha, I'd love to," Amy babbled before she could comprehend the situation. She felt like crying. Truly, madly.

* * *

"_Oh, darling...please believe me...I'll never do you no harm_," sang the band, leading couples young and old to dance. Knuckles swayed gracelessly with Rouge at the edge of the dance floor. They both watched Amy and her boy toy step onto the floor.

"And what do you know, they seem to be hitting it off," said Knuckles.

"Just like a fairytale," said Rouge.

"At midnight, she's gonna run and he's gonna hoard any shoes she leaves behind."

"Or they'll just get laid and never speak again."

"That's not cynical at all."

"No, it's not. It's being realistic."

"Realistically, they could decide later that there's actually more chemistry between them than they realised before, meet at the Four Seasons for drinks the next week, have the odd foreplay session every now and again before one of them realises that the other puts their Guardian duties before the relationship and calls it all off by running off with somebody richer."

"Except he can dance," said Rouge.

She and Knuckles sighed together.

"That's where we got it wrong," said Knuckles.

"That's where everything got wrong," agreed Rouge.

"Were we that much of a mess of a couple once?"

"I'm afraid we were."

"Dang."

Rouge shrugged and looked at her dancing partner. "Irreparable."

"Irreconcilable."

"And in spite of it all, you're still using any excuse to hold my hand, aren't you?"

Knuckles ground his teeth as he felt a blush creep over his face.

"It was your idea to dance," he argued.

"You agreed," Rouge returned.

Knuckles hesitated. "Who wrote this song?"

"Frank Sinatra Jr?" Rouge guessed.

"I could have sworn it dates back before his time."

* * *

"So you see, in order for the pyramids of Giza to come into existence, it would have required some metaphysical help," Hunter explained at the bar.

Amy gulped down some more Pinot Grigio.

"Wow," she gushed, feeling terribly underwhelmed. "Manic and Magenta never told me you were a scientologist."

Hunter cocked his head to one side, grinning. "I always save the best til last."

"Evidently," Amy said, emptying her glass. She'll pay Manic and Magenta back later. For now, she attempted to change the subject. "So how did you learn to dance so good?"

"I spent a year in Columbia," Hunter replied.

"Really?"

"Yes. I was studying the manifestation of Thetans and the impact they had on Latin America during their prophetic reign."

"Oh?" Amy found herself more attracted to the sight of her newly arriving Pinot than where this conversation was going. She immediately took a gulp. "So Hunter, tell me something."

"Anything, dollface," he answered. Amy's subconscious gagged.

"Apart from us being...manifested by aliens, do you believe in love at first sight?"

Hunter smirked. "I'm starting to."

"Oh, that's nice," Amy garbled as she chugged down more wine. "Do you believe that each of us are...destined...for just one other person in our lifetime?"

"You mean like a soul mate?"

"Yeah."

"Well..." Hunter hesitated with his answer as Amy waited eagerly. "I guess I do. They can't be called 'The One' for nothing. I don't believe that just anyone is fully compatible with just anyone. There's always just one person and one person alone who makes you feel..."

"Complete?" Amy tried.

"Yes," said Hunter. "That's exactly what I was going to say."

"Uh-huh. So, what if this one person you're supposed to be with is...with someone else?"

"Well, I always take into account the example of my mother and her husband. My mother was married to my father for twelve years, told everyone that she was really happy. Then one day, she met this other man from her church function and she told my father that she never felt anything like this before – she was finally completely in love. So she divorced my father and married this other man and they've been together now for seventeen years and they're still crazy for each other. It seemed like she wasn't happy until she married this guy and vice versa. It really was like they were meant to be."

"Mm!" said Amy enthusiastically, halfway through a gulp of Pinot. "Like fate brought them together at last!"

"Exactly! That's exactly it. How cool is this?"

"So you believe that even if the person you're meant to be with is already married, you can't just let that pass you by?"

"Well, if there's one perfect person for everyone, then fate will lead you to them...just like fate brought me here tonight."

He was touching her arm. Amy felt a bit lightheaded. Was it him or the wine?

"Well," she said, giggling gingerly. "Thanks for answering my questions."

"You're welcome, angel cake," cooed the badger. "And do you wanna know how I think you find your soul mate?"

"What?"

"You stop looking for them."

"I see..." said Amy. Then hurriedly, she picked up her handbag. "Well, I gotta go. It was lovely meeting you."

"Can I give you a ride home?"

"Mm-mmm," said Amy quickly. "I really gotta go."

"Can I have your number?"

"I've got my period," Amy stammered. Hunter looked uncomfortable. Amy enjoyed it. "I have to go to the bathroom and then I think—" She forced a yawn. "Then I think I'll go home. Get some rest."

"One more drink, come on," Hunter tried.

"Haha – no," said Amy, and left before he could say another word.

* * *

A flurry of bridesmaids with the one and only bride piled into the ladies' room.

"Not a bad music choice, Mina-girl," said Magenta.

"It's Ember's band," said Mina.

"I know! They're good!"

"Mina, come here, you have some smudged eyeliner on your face," said Sonia.

"I can't believe I've never seen Les Miserables until today!" Cream gushed as Mina and Sonia re-adjusted their makeup in the restroom mirror.

"It's amazing, isn't it?" Mina agreed. "I'll be singing that song for months now!"

"Which one?" asked Sonia.

"All of them!"

"One day more!" Cream suddenly sang. Sonia almost re-applied her lipgloss all across her face at the sight of Cream suddenly bursting into song in the middle of the restroom. Her soprano voice almost shot through the roof. Cream did have a tendency to forget where she was at times. She was lucky she was meek and mild enough to get away with it.

"If only I knew the rest of the words," she sighed, coming back down to Mobius.

"One more day til you are married," Magenta sang to Mina, improvising the lyrics in Javert's theme. "You will tie the knot at last! You'll be ready for the future, you will kick its epic ass!"

Sonia giggled. "Just one more day and my little brother gets married. I'm so happy for you!"

"Thanks," Mina said, not looking her way.

"Aren't you excited?"

Mina was fluffing up her hair. It fell in lilac ringlets down her back. Cream thought she had the most beautiful hair in the world. Mina's eyes were adjacent to her admiring gaze.

"Yeah...I guess..." she sighed.

"Are you alright?" Sonia mumbled.

Magenta pulled a face in the mirror. "Smile – it's the night before your wedding!"

Mina stared into the mirror. Her emerald eyes were glassy. So much so that Magenta stopped pulling her silly face. Mina could feel the outer shell of confidence and self-assurance that she had built for herself over the years beginning to crack. Suddenly, a strong current inside her being regurgitated her fifteen-year-old self back into existence and in that instant, she was lost. She was confused, at a loss for words, strength and reassurance. She crumbled there and then in the women's restroom and covered her face as tears spurted down her face.

Immediately, Sonia had her arms around her.

"Mina! What's the matter?"

Magenta stood awkwardly for a moment before gathering some tissues from the closest cubicle. Cream felt like she had just shrunk. Back to her naive six-year-old self who didn't know what to do in these kinds of cases.

"Miss Mina? What's wrong?" she quavered.

Mina didn't know what to do. Why was she crying? Why all this? Why now? She reprimanded herself for being so childish.

"I'm just being stupid," she quavered through her hands. _Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid._

"You're not stupid, Mina," Sonia assured her. "Please stop crying – I've just helped you get your eyeliner right."

Mina wiped the tears away quickly. She was angry at herself. _Stop acting like a fool, you fool._

"Sorry," she muttered. "I just don't know...I'm so scared." She dissolved into tears again.

"Dearest Mina," Cream whispered. "What are you scared of?"

Mina grappled onto a tissue Magenta held out for her and buried her face in it.

"Are you scared of tomorrow?" Cream asked sensitively.

Slowly, with huge, frightened eyes, Mina nodded.

"Why is that, Miss Mina?" said Cream, forgetting herself again and resorting to her innocent childlike antics.

Trying to regain her composure, Mina opened her purse and took out a piece of folded-up newspaper. She handed it to Magenta and then returned to the mirror to adjust herself.

Anxiously, Magenta unfolded the clip-out article and read aloud the headline. She took her time.

"Knothole's...number one blue...bachelor takes a life." She looked up with shock. "Well, _shit_!"

"It says 'takes a wife', silly," said Sonia, taking the paper from her. Magenta looked sheepish.

"I knew that. Please excuse me and my dyslexia."

"I thought we all decided to veer our attention away from the press," said Cream.

"Well, in this case, we'll make an exception and prepare to get really pissed off," said Sonia, who then cleared her throat and read out the article.

**KNOTHOLE'S NUMBER ONE BLUE BACHELOR TAKES A WIFE**

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG, THE NATION'S ROBOT-BUSTING HERO, PREPARES TO SETTLE DOWN AND WED LONG-TIME GIRLFRIEND, POP SENSATION MINA MONGOOSE.

("Okay, that's you," she said, eyeing Mina.)

Last winter, at Casinopolis, downtown Station Square, Sonic the Hedgehog, 27, escorted singer-songwriter girlfriend Mina Mongoose away from the glare of the public eye. Witnesses that day happened to notice a token of nuptial commitment around the Mongoose's neck – nothing less than an engagement necklace.

Though the circle of Mobian heroes like to keep to themselves and avoid the pressures of celebrity life, an inside source officially confirmed that the Blue Blur and the pop star are to be married. The ceremony, attended exclusively by close friends and relatives takes place this Friday (21st of August) at The Mystic Resort hotel. The event itself will be aired nationally on TVSeven during the second week of September.

"IS HE SERIOUS?" SONIC HAS BEEN A FAMOUS SELF-APPOINTED BACHELOR.

Over the past six months, the reception of this news, however joyous, has been lukewarm. Widely known as a self-proclaimed bachelor, this mark of commitment seems to be a rather out-of-character turn of events for our spiky hero. While loyal fans support the upcoming marriage for this adorable couple (who last year celebrated their five years of dating), the majority of the public place their bets on just how long it will last.

("Whaaaaat?" said Magenta.)

Participants in such bets deny this scepticism as "cynical", opting to describe it as "merely realistic".

("Pah. Like there's a difference in this case," Magenta scoffed.

Sonia rolled her eyes and read on. "Princess Sally Acorn offers—"

"Princess Sally?! That bitch!" Magenta exclaimed.)

Princess Sally Acorn offers possibly the most reliable perspective, given her famous romantic history with the hedgehog, of the outcome of this arrangement.

"It won't last," she has told reporters. "I know what he's like. He's always seeking adventure and he has an addiction to freedom. Our relationship ended on the basis of his fear of commitment. Marriage represents everything he isn't. I'm personally amazed he's managed to make this one last for as long as it has, especially since one might argue he has chosen beneath him."

(At this point, Sonia had started to screech.

"First you insult my brother, now you slag off one of my closest friends?!" she yelled. "How many lives must you ruin, you evil, conniving little—!"

Cream grabbed the paper quickly and resumed to read aloud.)

"Sonic isn't called the fastest thing alive for nothing," stated a servant to the Royal Family who was a witness to Sonic and Sally's ill-fated betrothal. "He's fast to impress the girls, fast to win them over and fast to disappoint them. For him to commit himself to one woman forever? You can't be serious. He's a typical hero – flitting from one adventure to the next, fling after fling. No woman could tie him down."

Mina Mongoose, 27, seems relatively happy in her relationship with Sonic. Some say she is completely oblivious to the nature of Sonic's (quite literal) speed dating style.

"Some say love is blind," another source told us. "The fate of Sonic and Mina will be an obvious testimony of that."

Below this article were two photographs. The first was a large picture of Sonic and Mina leaving the casino subtitled: "Gotta go fast: Sonic and Mina flee the scene." Another was a close-up of Mina's engagement necklace. That was subtitled: "Flashing the crowd: Mina's engagement necklace." The last was a picture some photographer had caught of Mina linking arms with Sonic as they walked inconspicuously through the park. That subtitle was the worst. "Blissfully unaware: Mina clings to her commitment-phobic fiancé."

Cream folded the article back up and handed it back over.

"You're afraid Sonic is going to walk out on you?" she whispered. Mina blew her nose gently in the tissue.

"He walked out on Princess Sally, didn't he?" she said. "He turned down a royal proposal. He ran away from everything." There was a pause. "Running is his passion."

Sonia took her by the shoulders.

"No, Mina," she said firmly. "If he plans to run away at all, he would run away with you. He loves you, Mina. He does. I know. What does the press know? They only have their biased opinion and that bitter little skank we call a princess to account for. They know nothing about us."

"You know they get five hundred dollars per article, right?" added Magenta. "It's their fuckin' twisted job – to make up shit and print it on a paper, no matter whose feelings get hurt in the process. So just fuck 'em."

"Yes, just," said Cream. "...ignore them."

"I feel so stupid," Mina mumbled. "I fooled myself in the beginning and I'm fooling myself again, thinking I'm good enough to change him."

"He changed for you," said Sonia earnestly. "And you _are_ good enough because he wants to spend the rest of his life with you. If he didn't, he wouldn't have asked."

Mina looked at her maid of honour through fearful eyes.

"I'm scared, you guys," she whispered.

"Mina, trust me, I know him," said Sonia. "He's my brother. And he _has_ changed, for the better, to be with you."

"Not a day goes by I don't doubt our relationship. This newspaper story has just confirmed everything I know I should be fearing."

"Is that really true?" asked Sonia.

Mina nodded slowly. Sonia removed her hands from the bride's shoulders. Cream gently embraced the yellow mongoose.

"I've never doubted you two," she said comfortingly.

Magenta stepped forward cautiously.

"Mina-girl? I may not be the best with words (and I have a medical record to prove that), so allow me to quote the worst commercial ever aired. You're worth it. You've got the guy wrapped around your little finger! He might have run away in the past, but you're not a spoiled little wannabe monarchist whore. You're the best girl I know and he sees that. I can see that he sees that. He _is_ going to marry you, no matter what those assholes at the journalist shit factory might say."

Cream looked up hopefully. "See? I'm not the only one. I know I'm not. Tails tells me almost every day that in the thirteen years he's been Sonic's best friend, he has never seen him act the way he does when he's with you. Trust me."

Mina hugged Cream tightly back, almost as if it were the last time they'd be seeing each other.

"Trust me," Cream repeated quietly.

Magenta and Sonia joined the hug as Mina got herself together.

"You know what?" said Sonia. "When I got married, I wasn't far off to how you are now. You're just nervous, you're over-thinking things – which is totally natural – and you're having doubts as a result. Just be cool. Trust Sonic that he loves you as much as he says and remember how much you love him too."

"Thanks, you guys," said Mina. The group separated.

"And if he does walk out on you," said Sonia dangerously. "He'll have me to answer to."

Cream laughed.

"Hey, I'm his sister – I have legal rights to kick his ass."

"Are you gonna be okay?" asked Magenta, stroking Mina's arm. She nodded, smiling bravely. She sighed and cleaned herself up in the mirror.

"Sorry about that," she said apologetically. Her bridesmaids protested, but Mina spoke above them. "No, this is my party, I'm the hostess, I'm supposed to be making sure you guys have a good time. So let's go back in and own that dance floor."

"Yeah!" Cream chirped.

"Right behind ya, girl," Sonia smiled. "Soon to be my new sister!"

Mina beamed, reassured, and led the way out.

"I am starvin' Marvin!" Magenta declared. "And I have every right to be."

Sonia turned to her on the way out.

"Have you told anyone yet?" she asked in a whisper.

"What? Oh." Magenta glanced down at her belly. "No, not yet. It's just you, Auburn and Manic. Probably the only ones who should know right now."

"Who's going to know next?"

"That I haven't figured out yet. I'm trying this new thing where I just make stuff up as I go along."

"Huh. That's a 'new thing', is it?" Sonia jeered. Magenta ignored her.

"I'm not gonna tell anyone yet. It's Mina's wedding – I don't wanna steal her thunder."

"Okay. Now let's go grab some grub."

"I'm totally craving those little whore-durve things they're passin' round..."

The door closed and a moment passed. A toilet cubicle unlocked. Amy stared after the gang, feeling hollow.

_What...the hell did I just hear?_

Amy tiptoed out. It was surprisingly soundproof in that bathroom. She gripped the edge of a nearby sink. She felt sick. She felt like she had just drunk a ton of bleach.

_No, that would be the wine._

Amy looked at herself in the mirror. Her eyes were wide, blazing.

_Mina...having doubts. Well, isn't this just so...meant to be?_

Her breath was ragged. She felt like she was about to explode. Tears? No. Rage? Perhaps not. Absolute mania? Maybe. Her thoughts were rushing around her head.

_Well, this is great. This is wonderful! Sonic and Mina are getting married, how nice. And Mina doubts their relationship! This is perfect!_

Break into insane, wicked, wild, uncontrollable laughter? No. Instead, she turned on the faucet and splashed her face with cold water. It woke her up. A bit. She stood, gasping and face dripping with water as her thoughts somewhat slowed. Now it was just a heavy line of thought traffic in her head.

_Soul mates. Two people brought together by fate. Sonic and Mina? Really?_

She looked at herself in the mirror again.

_...Sonic and me?_

_No. Yes! Please? Oh, I don't know! This is crazy._

"_This is crazy!_" Amy cried out hoarsely. She turned her back on her reflection and leant against the sink, clutching her forehead. "This is so...stupid..."

_This is ridiculous. All this hype, all this fuss over one wedding. One wedding that, according to recent social stats, will have only a fifty percent chance of actually working out. Meanwhile, I wait on my big butt surviving on a diet of vodka and Ben and Jerry's, being surrounded by nine pet cats and hoping that at some point or other, he will wind up standing and waiting for hours outside my apartment every night in hopes that I may come down. Which I will, because we're supposed to be together. That's where fate will lead us. I'm positive. And now there's this huge, stupid party. For nothing._

"All for nothing," Amy mumbled to herself. Her speech felt slurred.

_This is a catastrophe! Run away. I've got to run away. I've gotta get away from here. Anywhere but here._

Feeling dizzy and slightly sick, Amy crept out of the restroom and made her way to the exit.

_On a side note, I am going to kill Manic and Magenta. 'Smooth as butterscotch'? Yeah, right!_

The music pounded against her ears. Why did it have to be so loud? There was a statue near the entrance of an Adonis. Amy felt like hammering it to pieces for looking so pristine and perfect. Why did she have to be more turned on by a marble statue than by a perfectly (or half) decent badger?

_Now, now. The twelve-year-old Amy Rose would do that. The twenty-four-year-old Amy Rose is a different person. She knows how to handle things. With a drink or two._

She rummaged through her brain as she walked, desperately searching for some sort of strategy file packed away right in the back of her mind. This couldn't be happening, could it? Sonic is getting married to Mina tomorrow and all this time, Mina was having doubts, some newspaper claimed that he was too commitment-phobic to marry her and (at least to Amy) this was because he was meant to be with Amy Rose the Hedgehog. She was sure of it.

_HE WAS MEANT TO BE WITH ME!_

"Hey Amy!"

Amy's insides jumped at that voice. She turned, her heart in her throat, as Sonic, smiling that goddamned perfect smile, came over to her, his beautiful face being illuminated by the lights on the dance floor.

_I was just thinking about you_, garbled her subconscious slyly.

"Where ya going?"

"Sonic, I, uh, I have to go."

_Before I have a nervous breakdown._

"Oh hey, wait a minute," said Sonic, blocking her entrance. "Why are you leaving so soon?"

_Whatever you do, don't look into his eyes. They will melt you and bid you to do whatever he says_, said a warning voice in Amy's head.

"Well, I just...I have to get to bed early. I'm really tired."

"Please. Stay for the meal," Sonic pleaded.

_Don't look into the eyes!_

"Oh, yeah, I'm not hungry," Amy babbled, averting her gaze from his for as long as she could.

"Uh...not for the grub – for the speeches," Sonic continued. "Mina and I are gonna thank everyone for coming and give a certain couple of people the opportunity to give us their blessings for tomorrow."

"Sonic, I really have to go," Amy begged, making a last effort to dodge him and make her great escape.

"This is my wedding, Amy."

Amy stopped in her tracks. Those words. Those damn words. Hitting her like an ambush of blunt axes, gutting her where she stood. Her eyes smarted.

"I'd...I'd like you to stay."

_More words. More stab wounds. Bleeding. Dying. Pathetic – I'm just so pathetic._

Amy turned around slowly.

"You'd like me to stay?"

It was the most wonderful feeling – feeling wanted. By _him_.

"Yeah." He smiled benevolently, making Amy's head spin. "Please?"

She had looked into his eyes.

* * *

As the party assembled to their allocated places in the dining hall, Shadow found himself being drawn to the bar.

"Scotch," he ordered. "Neat."

He sat at the bar and sighed heavily.

_WhatWasSheDoing?WhatWasSheDoing?WhatWasSheDoing?_

His fist slammed down.

"And make it snappy, chief," he snapped.

The hotel was run by humans. Shadow wondered if it was racial tension that brought them to such a job. The young man serving him was immediately unnerved. He gave him his drink quickly. Shadow took a gulp. It blazed unrealistically fierce down his throat. Was whiskey always this rough? The stuff was like fire. He sipped it steadily afterward.

"Are...are you Shadow the Hedgehog?" asked the young man at the bar.

Shadow eyed him. "No, I'm Morgan Freeman's grandson, the great George Freeman."

"Oh." The lad fiddled with his cloth. "Could I have an autograph?"

The murderous glare in Shadow's eye managed to urge the guy to leave.

_What on Mobius did she think she was doing? Who was that guy anyway? Damn Manic. Damn Magenta. Setting her up like that. With such a stiff! On this day, of all days! What the hell were they thinking?!_

The memory of Amy's tear-stained eyes flashed through his mind.

_What is it with me and my memories?_

It was always his memories that affected him the most. He didn't let memories hinder him as they were being created. They only ever plagued him once they had set in his mind.

Just like his memories of Maria. But that was a story from long ago.

_Poor kid. Poor Rose. This godforsaken day has done nothing but screw her over. Like she hasn't been screwed over enough already. That poor girl._

There was that rare feeling again. Pity. He tolerated it for as much as he could that day, but by now, it was bursting through the roof. It felt like dipping into a hot bath on a freezing cold winter's day. It felt like needles – a million pins and needles. But then it felt needed. He did pity her. He knew what it was like to love and to lose. Yes, he knew all too well, and he'll be damned if he has to watch it happen to someone like her. Someone who shows such exuberance, such youth and beauty. This girl, who had tried desperately to stay young was now being wasted away by her age-old obsession with that blue hog. It was so sad to watch. No young girl should have her youth stolen from her.

Then.

_Why the hell am I drinking? Have I seriously degraded to a self-sympathising wretch who sits all day getting wasted on scotch just because I can't get a grip? Why do I have to force myself to get a grip on anything in the first place?_

It was all very confusing to him.

* * *

Mina's stomach hit the floor when she discovered the main course for the evening: chilli dogs.

"SONIC!" she shrieked in alarm.

A blue flash. Sonic was by her side.

"What?" he asked urgently.

Mina looked like she was trying to control a shipwreck.

"Can you please explain to me why this nice young lady has just told me that the main course for this evening is processed wieners served with chilli con carne in a bun?"

"We have a vegetarian option for certain guests, ma'am," said the redheaded young lady nervously.

"Chilli dogs?" Mina cried. "For the main course?!"

Sonic put his hands on her shoulders.

"Okay, okay, honey, I think there was a bit of a miscommunication," he said, trying not to panic.

"I ordered salmon!" wailed Mina in an uncharacteristic diva moment. "It was supposed to be salmon for the main course, not animal fat stuffed into a synthetic casing and smothered with cow entrails!"

"Mina! Mina," said Sonic hurriedly, taking her by the hands which she had begun to gesticulate with hysterically.

"Squeeze," he ordered. She obeyed, squeezing very hard. "Breathe," he instructed, to which she complied, inhaling deeply through her nose and exhaling strongly through her mouth. "Look at me," he asked. She did. "Hey!" he said warmly.

"Hey," she gasped.

"Hey. Everything's fine. Okay, you ordered salmon, but I messed up. But everyone seems to like the idea of a chilli dogs." He eyed his groomsmen meaningfully. "Don't you, guys?"

Tails, Knuckles, Manic and Auburn all caught on, nodding and agreeing enthusiastically.

"And for every vegetarian, pescetarian, vegan, what-have-you present, there's a meat-free, dairy-free option. So everyone's happy. Everyone's okay with that. Alright?"

"Alright," Mina breathed. "Alright. I'm alright."

"Yeah! She's outta the woods, people," Sonic proclaimed as Mina smiled brightly, back to normal.

"I'm sorry you guys," she said, sitting at her place. "It's just...it's my wedding. I just want everything to be perfect."

Sonic felt a slight lump in his throat at those words.

"Thanks, you can go now," he said to the still-nervous redhead who was still standing by them. He sat next to his bride. "Okay. Are we all here?"

"Looks like it," said Tails.

"Everyone here?" Mina asked Sonia.

"Everyone here?" Sonia passed down to all the bridesmaids.

"Of course," said Cream.

"Hells yeah," replied Magenta.

Amy scrambled to her seat. She felt the telling signs of too much wine taking their toll.

"Here," she signalled.

Sonia turned back to Mina.

"Everyone's here."

"Okay, let's roll," said Sonic. As everyone took their places, Sonic gestured over to the lead singer of Ember's band. He nodded, took his mike from out of its stand and walked over.

"Yo, wassup everybody?" he spoke into it. The congregation cheered back in response. "I love a great audience. Okay, as the lead singer of the band tonight, I'd like to be the first to congratulate the wonderful couple whom tonight we celebrate – the soon-to-be Mr and Mrs Olgilvie!"

There was applause as the mike was handed over to Sonic and Mina, who both stood proudly.

"Thank you very, very much, Un Flow – you played some really cool music tonight and we can expect more tomorrow."

"Hopefully some more McCartney-Lennon classics," said Mina into the mike.

"And some more Un Flow originals which are way past deadly awesome!" added Sonic.

The crowd gave the band some appreciative applause.

"McCartney and Lennon. Who were those guys?" Knuckles pondered.

"Well, I think I can speak for the both of us when I say that this night has had an amazing turn out and I'm so glad that so much of you are here. I don't have a clue _why_ you're all here, but..." Sonic was drowned out by laughter. He slipped his arm around Mina's waist. "But thank you all so much for coming."

Mina contributed. "It's enough that I have an incredible fiancé. I'm just so grateful and kind of overwhelmed that so many of you have travelled so far and cancelled lots of different appointments just to come here and be with us at this very special time. It's literally _the_ most perfect thing to see so many familiar faces in one room. Honestly, guys, I couldn't feel more appreciative for having you all here with us tonight. Thank you all so much."

The enthusiastic crowd gave some applause to this heartfelt speech.

"See, now you _have_ to stay for the wedding," said Sonic cheekily, causing some more laughter. "Now while most of you – close friends, family, plane buddies and more – know myself and Mina very well, those of you who are a little absent-minded or no longer forty or just here for the grub, we'd like to take you for a little trip down memory lane and tell you all how we met. Okay, now, Mina knows nothing about this, but instead of just standing here and telling you all about it, me and the guys decided to put together a little something on that screen that – yeah, that Espio and Mighty are just dragging out right there, thank you, guys – a little something on that screen which will tell you our story. So sorry, honey, no long speech from you tonight."

That last sentence was directed at Mina, who glared at him in mock anger while the rest of the party chuckled.

"You forget – there's always tomorrow," she said threateningly.

Manic and Tails encouraged a chorus of 'ooooh's from the audience. Sonic looked sheepish.

"Uh, enjoy the video, folks," he said quickly. "Cue it up, Vector."

The lights went down and the crowd went quiet, apart from Alba asking her mother: "Are we watching _Lilo and Stitch_?"

Up on the screen, Sonic appeared, sitting in front of the Master Emerald. Mina guessed that all of the groomsmen had been involved.

"Hey, everyone. Hey, Mom. Hello, my gorgeous bride," he said. "If you are watching this video, it means I am dead and this is my will. Totally joking. Mina, remember when I asked you out and you just didn't know what to say? It was the cutest thing I've ever seen – your eyes went all big and wide and your mouth made this little polo-mint-sized circle and you basically did nothing but blush and fiddle with your hands. It was adorable. I can't believe that that beautiful, nervous girl has turned into my beautiful, confident bride. I'm not sure why you didn't say anything to begin with. But I will say one thing – now that I love you to a measure un-measurable, I can understand now. Sometimes I look at you and I just don't know how to tell you how much I need you in my life. So here's a little video that will hopefully explain at least a bit to you. And before you ask, yes, I did rifle through your iPod that night and yes, I have included your musical guilty pleasure in this video in the form of Meat Loaf and Patti Russo."

Some of the audience laughed. Mina put her face in her hands, giggling embarrassedly.

"Sorry I'm cutting off your speech time, but I figured that maybe the most is said without needing to say anything. You know what they say – silence is gold."

He grinned and the video faded out.

A title appeared:

October 11th, 3242

Home video of Mina doing back flips in her back yard. She was chanting the number of back flips she was performing before turning around to the camera and waving.

"Tada! Hey, Tails!"

"Hey, birthday girl!"

A subtitle:

As an additional birthday present, Sonic asked Mina to be his girlfriend on her twenty-second birthday.

A photograph of Mina, Sonic, Tails, Amy and Magenta gathered round drinking party drinks appeared.

She said...nothing.

A beautiful black-and-white picture of Mina gazing up at the camera while at her piano fronted the screen.

A brilliant piano riff came onto the speakers just as the video flipped to showing pictures of Sonic and Mina as they were growing up.

"_Little lady_," sang the voice of Meat Loaf as a very smiley baby Mina fronted the screen, influencing a chorus of 'awwww!'. "_I think there's something on your mind_."

Sonic in a high chair, face and quills covered with chilli con carne was presented on the screen, initiating some laughter. "_I've known you long enough to know the words are not that hard to find_."

School photos appeared. The slogan:

The lovebirds met while they were in high school, though their first meeting was less idyllic.

"_And the harder you try, the longer you go, well there's nothing but love in those eyes anymore. You know what to say, but you never know how. You can keep your mouth shut, 'cos it doesn't really matter right now._"

As more photos followed, their story was revealed through slogans.

An awkward teenage romance followed after a dramatic meeting during a life-saving mission.

"_I will guide you all the way, because I know exactly what you're trying to say._"

While Sonic embraced the life of a hero, Mina settled for her singing career.

There was a photo of Mina performing live.

"_You have the right to remain silent_," sang the song, prompting a video clip of Sonic dressed in an officer's uniform to aim a toy pistol at Manic who was wearing fake breasts, a purple wig and a mask with Mina's face on it. It made a lot of people laugh.

"_I'll get the lights, you get that smile and you say nothing at all._"

Alas, the pair went their separate ways.

"_Well I couldn't have said it better myself._"

A picture of Sonic overlooking a shoreline on a cliff.

I felt like I had lost my way.

"_Tonight the conversation takes a fall._"

I know it wasn't easy for her either.

"_Just love me like you love nobody else._"

But then...

I came to my senses.

A photograph of Mina looking hopeful.

I was supposed to be with you.

Cut to footage of Sonic, mouthing the words dramatically.

"_I see the angels. They're standing right outside your door._"

"_They're watching over me, they're watching over us all._"

The congregation laughed even harder to see Manic dressed the same way from the last clip, minus the mask but with a lot of Magenta's makeup lip synching the female part of the song.

"_Well you can send them home tonight, cos you won't need them anymore._"

"_In your arms I think I've found the safest place to fall_."

More footage of Sonic coming through a door melodramatically and being wowed by Knuckles wearing the Mina mask.

"_When I step in the door and I stare at your face, there are so many things that I wish I could say. Well I struggle with words, but they put up a fight. You can keep your mouth shut, cos it doesn't really matter tonight._"

I was meant to be with you, Mina.

"_I will guide you all the way, because I know exactly what you're trying to say. You have the right to remain silent. I'll get the lights. You get that smile and you say nothing at all._"

Screenshots of Sonic and Mina in random photographs they had taken of themselves together around Christmas time.

"_Well I couldn't have said it better myself. Tonight the conversation takes a fall. Just love me like you love nobody else._"

Footage of Tails dragging Mina outside on the eve of her birthday to see Sonic come home early from his most recent Eggman-defeating mission. The hippie van he had hitchhiked home in had been decorated with flowers and had the words "FIVE YEARS 3" spray-painted on the side. Mina was recorded laughing and recoiling with the sheer joy of it all.

"_And I know you feel the same. You've been searching for the words, now you know what to say. Oh, yeah! Just say nothing. Don't say a word. Silence is gold. Don't say a word. Shhh..._"

Sonic didn't know what he'd do without her in his life.

So at the end of the year, Mina was taken to Emerald Coast as a hostage by her insecure lover...

...and was refused to journey home until she had agreed to marry him.

Unknown to her, Sonic's sister Sonia was taking photos of the whole thing.

Mina gasped and looked her fiancé's way, who grinned knowingly at her. She stared at her Maid of Honour, who started to laugh.

Photos of Sonic and Mina on their luxurious romantic getaway at Emerald Coast began to play. First them drinking cocktails on the pier that overlooked the tropical waters, then of Mina kissing a dolphin. A humorous shot of Sonic being pinched by a lobster. Finally, Sonic down on one knee at a fantastic sunset as Mina reacted in pure ecstasy.

Sonic felt Mina's hand in his.

"_This is the moment we've been waiting for!_"

"_If I exercise my right_."

"_And I will take your body language and hold it against you tonight. And I know you feel the same. I've wondered all my life – if this moment comes, would I know what to say?_"

Cut to footage of Sonic and Mina slow dancing at Twinkle Park.

"_Then you say nothing at all._"

"_So many times I stumbled on the words that I wanted to say._"

Stars glimmered above them as they waltzed on a moonlit stone platform.

"_Yeah, you say nothing at all._"

"_So many thoughts I should have just let my heart explain._"

"_You say nothing at all._"

"_So many ways we could turn the words around._"

"_You say nothing at all._"

"_So many nights our hearts came crashing to the ground._"

"_You say nothing at all._"

"_So many dreams that are finally coming true._"

"_Well I couldn't have said it better myself._"

"_Now you finish me off when you finish my thoughts the way you do!_"

Footage of a firework display.

Heading:

WE'RE GETTING MARRIED!

As the chorus repeated itself to a fade-out, more photos and video footage were exhibited, some subtitled, some that just said everything that needed to be said.

As the music faded, Sonic fronted the scene in front of the Master Emerald once more.

"I love you, Mina. That's literally all I can say."

The video closed with one last heading:

Thank you for saying yes.

With that closing subtitle, the audience split into applause. As Mina wiped a tear or two away, Sonic stood up with the mike, Mina's hand still in his.

"Ladies and gentlemen, that's the fruitiest sight you're ever gonna see of me," he started, laughing. "Now I believe there are a certain amount of people who want to, uh, give us their blessing for tomorrow. Sonia looks like she's itching to speak, so I'm gonna hand the mike to her before she explodes."

Sonia gratefully took the microphone.

"Thank you, little brother. _Hola_, everyone!" The audience greeted her back. "As Sonic's eldest sibling, bearing in mind we're triplets, with our brother Manic hiding somewhere near the back – hey, bro! – I feel it is my duty to welcome our newest member of the family. Now, I haven't known my brothers all my life and I was perfectly content not to, if you want to know the truth. Learning that I had a family meant I had parents, warmth, comfort, nurturing, etcetera, etcetera. It did not mean to me loud, raucous and ridiculously competitive brothers born on the same day as me whose idea of sophisticated humour was to burp in my face to wake me up on schooldays." The audience laughed. Sonic facepalmed. Magenta shot a disgusted yet amused look toward Manic, who shrugged innocently. "They were the only family I knew for a long time. They didn't know what it was like to have a bossy older sister until we were fifteen. I, on the other hand, have never known what it is to have a sister. Now, you should know that when Mina and I first met, we weren't the best of friends."

"She could say the same for me too," Magenta muttered to Cream, who giggled.

"There was an air of constant competitiveness towards each other. We were both struggling musicians for a time and very reluctant to confess that we were both envious and adoring towards each other. I thank Mina for having the guts to humble herself first and fess up that I was something of an icon to her. It made me confess my long-standing admiration for her as well and without that intimate moment, I don't think I'd be standing here as her Maid of Honour today." She began to continue, but was silenced by the applause from the crowd. "Thank you." She turned her attention to Mina. "Mina, you are a beautiful person, inside and out and I cannot think of anyone more perfect for my little brother Sonic. You've brought out the best in him – something which I didn't think he had for a time – and I honestly can't wait to finally have a sister at last. I hope everyone here is as pleased as I am to raise their glasses to my little brother and his amazing, gorgeous bride. To the bride and groom!"

"To the bride and groom!" the audience cheered back, toasting them. They applauded gratuitously.

Amy had nothing left to drink. She had been filling her glass all the way through the movie. Then she got up shakily and made her way over to Sonia. Stumbling slightly, she took the mike, empty glass in her hand.

"Hey, whoa, hey," she said into the microphone, grabbing everyone's attention. "So...so I guess this – this _couple_ want my blessing, huh? Well, not _my_ blessing, per se, but the blessings of those...around them...who feel that...they should be the ones given something to say. Well, I have something to say. I have to say...that this...this decor – the mauve candles and the sapphire placemats? This is kinda stupid. I mean, no offence or anything, I appreciate all the work gone into this, but I just can't stomach it. This is lies. This is all lies. I mean, unless, Sonic, you are _truly_, one hundred percent _committed_ to Mina and unless you _truly_..._love_ each other...and want to spend the rest of your lives making lots of love and babies...I refuse my blessings. You know, for anyone who in any way at _all_ doubts this relationship – this, this _marriage_, in fact – they should, as they say, speak now or forever hold your peace. It's not too late to make a break for it after all, you know what I'm saying?" At this point, she intended the audience to laugh. They shuffled uncomfortably. "Because if you can't commit to each other, then this was all for nothing. And I've heard things tonight. Yeah, I've heard a lot of things. This is all one...big, twisted lie. And I won't give my blessings to a lie, Sonic. I won't give my blessings to a big sack of lies. You can play as many home-made videos and rub as many photographs in our faces as you want, but it won't be enough to cover up the falseness of this...whole thing. I am a good, kind and honest girl..." She began to choke up. "Whose heart is in the right place...and always was...I don't give my blessings out lightly. And I will definitely not give my blessings to this preposterous..."

Magenta snatched the microphone out of her hand.

"Yo," she said hastily. "I think that's...enough of the toasts now. Uhm...there's chilli dogs being served tonight, folks. Chilli dogs for a rehearsal dinner – how punk rock is that? Hahaha...um, enjoy the food, I should warn you that pregnant women may want to steer clear of the yellow stuff in these pots – it ain't mustard, but it's definitely potent stuff. Uh, cheers!" She raised her glass and awkwardly sat down.

Amy found her way back to her seat and slouched in it. Cream looked at her, quite alarmed.

"Amy?" she asked nervously.

"I think I'll take her home," said a voice. Cream jumped. How the heck does Shadow do that and how does he get away with it so often?

"Shadow, I don't need to be taken home – I'm fine," Amy whined.

"You stink of white wine," Shadow put simply as he hauled Amy out of her chair. She glowered at him.

"And you smell like a basket of roses too!" she snapped back.

"What a surprise – Amy, a mean drunk," said Shadow, dragging her arm over his shoulders and leading her out. Before they could leave the room, Amy called back over her shoulder:

"By the way, chilli dogs for a rehearsal dinner? That's the stupidest thing ever!"

Mina looked like she was having a heart attack.

* * *

Amy's heels tripped over the gravel that led the way out of the resort. Shadow was getting her a taxi. She continued to garble on drunkenly.

"They could have at least served chicken or lamb..."

"Amy, by tomorrow, you will be accountable for every nerve you've shaken tonight," Shadow said threateningly as he hailed a cab.

"I didn't do anything but tell the truth, Shadow!" Amy said defensively, yet on the verge of wailing. "You always gotta tell the truth! Their love isn't real! Sonic is supposed to be with me! _He's supposed to be with me!_"

At this point, Amy struggled to get back to the party. It took most of Shadow's strength to get her into the car. Once in, Amy cried desperately into Shadow's chest.

"Pear Blossom Court," he said to the taxi driver. "Step on it."

"He's supposed to be with me..." Amy moaned into Shadow's fur.

"Okay, Amy," Shadow said with an air of impatience. "He's supposed to be with you."

Once the cab had reached Amy's apartment block, Amy had cried herself out. Shadow tipped the driver generously for having a bawling passenger on board. Amy hung limply onto Shadow's side as he hauled her into the building and up the stairs.

"We should take the elevator," Amy slurred.

"Nawh," said Shadow. "Elevators make drunk people sick. I would know."

Amy giggled suddenly. "You're funny, Shadow! I haven't met many funny people tonight. But you are funny!"

"Yeah, yeah," he said dismissively. He reached a red door with '1C' written on it. "Is this your room?"

"Uh-huh," said Amy, stumbling towards it with her key. She attempted to unlock the door. Her key fell out of her hands once. Twice. Three times.

"Look, maybe I'd better just..." said Shadow, grabbing her keys and letting her in. As soon as Amy got inside, she went to the fridge, opened it...and fell into a drunken heap onto the floor. Shadow groaned. Amy burst into giggles as he picked her up.

"My hero!" she laughed.

Shadow grunted and carried her to her room. He sat her down on her bed.

"Stay," he ordered. He let go of Amy, and she instantly flopped down on her mattress. Shadow sighed and began to undo her shoes.

"_Sommewheeerrrre...over the raaaiinboww..._" Amy sang tunelessly. Then she sighed. "I wish I was Mina."

"Why would you wish that?" asked Shadow.

"So I could be married to Sonic tomorrow."

Shadow paused delicately before asking his next question.

"And why do you wish to be married to him?"

"Because I love him!" Amy declared loudly.

"I see," said Shadow shortly. "What about that guy you met tonight?"

"Oh – that guy? Yeah, he's cute but nothing compares to Sonic."

Shadow ground his teeth. When was she going to give up this charade?

"You don't wanna be with Sonic," he said.

"What?" said Amy, propping herself up with some effort. "Sure I do. He's the only guy I've ever loved."

"You haven't really given your heart an open invitation to anyone else," said Shadow, cringing at the words that were leaving his mouth. "Besides, Sonic probably has a female submission fetish."

"A what?" asked Amy.

"Never mind," Shadow sighed. "He just seems like the kind of guy."

Amy, who had by now pieced together what Shadow meant in her head, dared herself to ask a very cheeky question. "How do you like to have sex, Shadow?"

Shadow's brow furrowed as he removed her other shoe. "Foreplay, female domination undertones, maybe some cuffs involved. Not that it's any of your business."

Amy's eyes widened. He actually answered _that_ question! _He really wants to answer my questions! What a godsend._

"Why didn't Sonic go for me, Shadow?" she asked.

"I don't know, Rose."

"I love him, Shadow." Amy's voice had suddenly become drawn. Shadow looked at her. Her eyes were brimming with tears again.

"Don't start crying again," he begged.

"I can't help it," Amy whimpered. "He's supposed to be with me...and he's not."

"It's not the end of the world," said Shadow softly.

"It's the end of my world," said Amy. Then she began to cry again.

"Don't do that," said Shadow, taking her hands. "Listen. No guy will ever be worth your tears."

"But how do I get him back?" Amy choked.

Shadow sighed. Pity again. It was rather intrusive. "You won't, Amy. He was never yours to begin with."

Amy suddenly flung herself on her bed, sobbing.

"It's not fair!" she wailed. "What's wrong with me?"

Shadow sat on the bed next to her. "Nothing."

"I'm annoying!"

"You're challenging."

"I'm too uptight and high maintenance!"

"Yeah, but in a good way."

"I'll never be his girl! He never gave me the chance and why?" Amy howled, heaving herself up again. "Because I don't have a car!"

Shadow tucked a stray pink quill behind Amy's ear.

"You don't need a car to impress a guy."

"Then what do I have? Nothing!"

"No," said Shadow kindly. "You have character. You have youthful exuberance. You have honesty, energy, feistiness, intelligence, grace and the guts to say what everyone else is thinking. Though a lot of this isn't based on tonight." He looked at the mournful pink hedgehog. Then he added, hating to admit it: "You're beautiful."

Amy stopped crying.

"I'm...beautiful?" she hiccoughed.

"Sure," said Shadow, not looking her way.

"I don't believe you."

"Try."

"I...can't." Amy sat, her tear-stained face downcast.

Shadow ran his hand over his crimson-streaked spikes.

"You've got very bright eyes," he began, talking through his teeth. "You've got a cute little nose. Your ears prick up when you're excited or alarmed. You have this adorable blush that dusts lightly over your cheeks when you're embarrassed or when you're confused. You bite your lip when you're feeling uncharacteristically shy. It's very...engaging."

Amy paused in thorough astonishment. Was this Shadow? Was this Shadow saying all these things about her?

"You're not...you're not lying?" she asked hesitantly.

"Of course I'm lying – the sky is green and money grows on trees. You happy?"

Suddenly, Amy grabbed the hedgehog's head and kissed him fervently on the lips. Shadow's direct response was to break away and demand an explanation. But something in him made him deny that force. He let his mouth be compliant to hers as she closed her lips over his. Slowly, she pulled away from him. Shadow stared at her, his brow still faintly furrowed.

"What was that for?" he asked.

"I dunno," Amy murmured. She still held his hands on the sides of his head. Her heart fluttered. It was the moment – the fiery, electric moment that made her do it. It wasn't her. It was just the heat of the moment. The heat of the moment that drew her slowly towards him once again.

"Shadow, you're so..." she whispered. "So..."

She slumped against him and began to snore.

"Ooohhh...kaayyy?" murmured Shadow.

* * *

When Amy next opened her eyes, it was pitch dark outside and she was in her bed. Her vision indicated that she was underwater...only she could breathe. Her head throbbed with pain. Struggling, she pulled herself up. Her head swayed. She grizzled loudly. She felt so sick.

"Want some water?" said a voice.

"Yes please," Amy murmured, reaching out for the glass. She took it and downed the whole lot. She gave it back. "I want some more—WAAAHHH!"

She screamed in shock and surprise when she realised that Shadow the Hedgehog was in her room, sitting beside her bed, offering her water. Immediately, she clutched her head.

"Aargh. Crap, my _head_," she muttered. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"You kept trying to turn on your back while you slept," Shadow replied calmly. "Not such a wise move for someone who's completely inebriated."

"What time is it?" Amy groaned dizzily.

"It's only half twelve. I can stay for a bit longer if you want."

"What the hell are you doing here?"

"You already asked me that," said Shadow.

"Did I?" asked Amy, completely disoriented. She moaned. The pain in her head was completely unbearable. She tried to focus on Shadow. He blended in too well with his surroundings. She focussed on him until her eyes ached. His arms and legs were crossed and he had a very stern expression.

"What happened?"

Shadow snorted. "You don't wanna guess? There was a rehearsal dinner in honour of Sonic and Mina, if you recall."

Amy strained her memory. What day was it?

_Oh..._

Amy felt like she was going to throw up.

"What did I do?" she asked suddenly. "What did I say? What happened at the – where is my dress?"

"I couldn't expect you to sleep in that thing," said Shadow calmly.

"What the hell did you do with my dress, you pervert?!" Amy shrieked, covering herself with her comforter. She was only in her underwear.

"Amy. Calm down, will you? Your dress is over there on that chair."

Amy squirmed.

_Shadow undressed me. Great. That's the most sex I'm going to get for another very long time._

"What happened at...earlier tonight? Where...?" Again, Amy rifled through her memory. Visions of earlier events were vague. She remembered seeing Les Miserables. She remembered going to a hotel and there was a party. There was a cute guy who was...rather weird in person. There was wine.

_Ahaa. I _know_ there was wine..._

There was a video and a lot of festivity. Over a wedding that...wasn't meant to be.

Amy felt the back of her throat close up.

"What did I do?"

"Drank too much," said Shadow.

"No, what did I do?" Amy cried.

"Your behaviour tonight was inexplicably inappropriate to a degree that I hope you never fully remember. However much I feel for your disposition, Rose, you must learn to take responsibility for your actions."

"Shadow, tell me what happened," Amy said desperately. To her surprise, Shadow's temper somewhat abated. He uncrossed his arms and legs and leant in towards the bemused girl.

"You don't need to know right now, Rose. Everything's fine. The party was a success, everyone enjoyed themselves and went home. Now get some sleep. Things will feel much better in the morning."

"I didn't ruin anything, did I?" asked Amy steadily. "And please tell me the truth, Shadow, because I'd hate to be the one to ruin an event just because I'm the stupidest little girl you ever saw."

"Amy Rose," Shadow commanded. "Go to sleep. Rest your head. You were drunk. For the most part, you are forgiven, but you will make amends for the things you've done eventually. For now, you don't need to know. Everything's fine. Go back to sleep."

Amy couldn't deny her aching body rest any longer. Her head fell heavily into her pillow.

"I've been such a stupid girl," she murmured.

"I forgive you," said Shadow. "Goodnight, Rose."

The pink-haired girl closed her eyes.

"Goodnight, Shadow."

* * *

Out in the street, Shadow caught the night air in his nostrils. Why was the air always cleaner and sweeter in the night time? As he walked home, the memory of Amy pinched his gut.

_She kissed me. Why did she kiss me?_

It troubled Shadow all the way home. What did this mean? Did she like him? No. She was still infatuated with Sonic. But could she...?

Why was he bothering himself with these stupid questions anyway? What did it matter to him if some vulnerable girl kissed him while she was under the influence of alcohol?

_It takes a lot of alcohol to smooch a guy like me_, Shadow thought to himself.

He reached the door to his apartment block. He had in mind that Rouge would still be awake, counting her sapphires or something. Then she would ask all the inevitable, banal questions. 'Where were you?' 'Who were you with?' 'What did you do?' 'Did you finally get some action?'

Shadow smirked. People could be so predictable.

Not Amy. She surprised him tonight. Not many people do that.

He was still standing outside the door to his apartment block. He looked out down the road. It was almost completely still. A truck trundled by in the distance.

He went for a run.

* * *

Mina swept away the remainder of her makeup for the night and tossed the cotton pad she had used in the trash.

_One more day, Mina-girl..._

Her stomach churned. Her memory reverted back to Amy's unwelcomed drunk speech. What the hell was she thinking? Mina had been angry – angrier than Sonic, in fact – but forced herself to enjoy the rest of the night through a clamped jaw. That was her rehearsal dinner. If that's how Amy was going to behave, what would tomorrow hold? Mina shuddered and left the bathroom. Sonic was taking off his tie in the mirror.

"Hey," she said.

Sonic turned and smiled. "Hey. You alright?"

"Mmmm," said Mina thoughtfully, making her way to the bed and sitting down.

"What's up?" asked Sonic.

"You don't know?" Mina answered. She seemed tight.

"Honey," Sonic enthused. "Don't let it get to you. She was drunk and stupid. People do stupid things when they're—"

"I'm not angry about that," Mina started, truculent. Sonic shuffled.

"Then what are you angry about?"

"I'm angry about the fact that maybe there's a chance that she could be right."

Sonic paused, stunned.

"What?"

"Don't lie to me, Sonic," Mina warned. "You might play videos and use your deadly charm to get out of sticky situations, but I want you to be straight with me."

"What makes you think I won't be?" Sonic asked anxiously.

"Do you want to marry me?" Mina demanded.

"Mina...of course I do! What, you think this whole year of getting together a proposal, an engagement party, arranging Eggman's trial for an earlier date so we could have a wedding was because I don't want to marry you?"

"Sonic, don't start with me," Mina ordered.

"I'm not starting anything with you," Sonic objected. "I'm just saying, do you realise how crazy you sound?"

"So now I'm crazy?" asked Mina, standing up. "Is that how you see me, is it?"

"Now – see, now you're twisting things into something else. Mina, I'll be honest, the past few months haven't been a bed of roses. But I wouldn't do it if I didn't think the end result was going to be perfect – me, spending the rest of my life with you and us being happy together."

"You're happy?"

"You're not?"

"I'm scared, Sonic. I'm scared that all this time, you haven't changed, that you still want to run across the world alone, break free from the bonds of commitment and live a single life on the freeway."

"That's what you really think of me?" Sonic asked, offended.

"That's what you've shown yourself to be. In the past," Mina stated. She was frightened now. Frightened that she believed what she said.

"In the past," said Sonic, whipping his tie off from around his neck. He slowly walked towards his fiancée. "I was an asshole. I treated girls badly. To a point where I feel Amy had every right to do what she did tonight. But that's all a thing of the past, darlin'. I'm not that guy anymore."

By now, his face was parallel and inches away from Mina's.

"And why should I believe you?" asked Mina defiantly.

"Why should you believe me? Because I'm telling you!" Sonic suddenly burst out. He paced the room. Mina stood solidly, arms folded and defensive. "I've been your boyfriend for over five years, I'm about to become your goddamn _husband_ and here you are asking why you should believe anything I tell you!"

"Track record, Sonic!" Mina argued.

"Track record, my ass!" Sonic threw back. "Don't you get it? I'm in love with you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. For some reason, everything that I've promised you, done for you and made for you in the past half year all of a sudden doesn't mean anything to you. Mina, I don't fucking _get it_."

He made a swipe at the wall beside the windows. Mina had begun to tremble, her stomach in knots. This was not how she planned the night before her wedding to go.

"Well, I don't get you!" she said abruptly. "You act like one guy – this 'I'm gonna be a bachelor forever' guy who runs around without a care in the world, flitting from one adventure to the next, fling after fling like a typical hero and then all of a sudden you act like you're committed to me, you wanna marry me and you wanna be with me for the rest of your life!"

"Because I _do_, goddamn it!" Sonic thundered, slamming his fist against the wall again. "What more do I have to do to make myself clear? Is a proposal not enough?"

"Nothing can undo what you've done and who you've run away from in the past, Sonic the Hedgehog!" Mina cried.

"Fine!" Sonic roared, stomping towards the door. "If that's the way you think, then don't expect to sleep with any company tonight!"

"Fine! Like I would want to sleep with a over-confident hero who flirts too much!" Mina shot back.

"Fine!" Sonic yelled.

"Fine!" Mina yelled back.

"Good!" Sonic shouted as he barged through the door. Mina ran to the doorway.

"At least now I won't wake up with spike marks in my back!"

She slammed the door.

Sonic stampeded down the stairs, muttering to himself angrily. He then ran into Knuckles who stood in the doorway of the kitchen. He was in a bright green dressing gown and matching slippers and was carrying a hot drink. He looked at Sonic quizzically.

"Were you and Mina just fighting?" he asked quietly.

"What's it to you?" Sonic spat. He then looked at the drink Knuckles was carrying. He looked at the echidna derogatively. "Is that cocoa?"

"It helps me sleep," said Knuckles darkly.

"Way past lame, man," Sonic growled, shoving his way past. Before Knuckles could start on him, Sonic was outside in Knuckles' back yard. The air was warm and sweet. An owl was hooting nearby. The sky glittered with stars. It was always clear up on Angel Island. Sonic paced, needing a project, needing to vent his aggressive energy. He raced up the ancient ruins to the Master Emerald, dashing around it until he made himself giddy. Then, still muttering angrily, he kicked one of the pillars nearby. It hurt. A lot. Sonic swore, grabbing his foot and hopping around a bit. Then he sat down and took a breather.

_Where the hell did that all come from?_ He wondered. _How long has she been hiding that from me? Or was it just a spur-of-the-moment thing? That's unlikely – she's not PMSing. Then what was she doing? What was she trying to do? Was she just out to make me angry tonight? What the hell is her problem?!_

Sonic took a few deep breaths. Then he dashed from where he was at the speed of sound. He scaled thirty-two miles before he turned back and returned to his seating place beside the giant glowing emerald. He pressed his forehead against the luminous specimen. Its radiance had a soothing effect on Sonic.

_She's probably just scared. Well, so am I! What makes her so important?_

He took some more deep breaths.

_There's only twelve hours and thirty-nine minutes before it happens. Before the wedding. Before the moment I've both been waiting for and dreading like nothing I've ever dreaded before. This is the scariest thing ever. Such a commitment. Such a big step._

_Wait...what if she had a point?_

_No. I'm a different guy. I'm a guy who has enough love in his heart to give to one woman forever. I can commit to her. I can be with her for the rest of my life._

But as he began to comprehend the hugeness of the situation that he faced in twelve hours and thirty-eight minutes time, he began to doubt that he truly believed what he was thinking.

_But this is how every guy feels before his wedding. Auburn told me that. He made me sure of that. It is huge and it is overwhelming. But you get past that, he said. Minus the huge amount of people, the big party, the rituals thrown into it for good measure, there's the girl you love standing at the altar with you, waiting to begin the rest of her life with you. That's what makes it worth it._

_And Mina is worth it. No matter how mad she makes me sometimes._

He straightened up, looking straight into the enormous mystic jewel. It was certainly enchanting. For a moment, Sonic understood why Knuckles was so dedicated to his job.

_Dedication...I didn't know that word existed in my dictionary._

Dedication requires passion. What was Sonic's passion? Running. Right then and there, he knew what he needed to do.

* * *

Mina was sleeping when he finally returned to their bedroom. Carefully, Sonic lay on the bed with her. She still stirred.

_Why does she have to be such a light sleeper?_ Sonic queried in his mind.

"Sonic?" she whispered.

"Hey," he smiled back.

Mina put a hand to his face.

"Sonic, I'm so sorry," she said. "I'm just nervous. There's only a few hours left until—"

"I know, I know," said Sonic softly. "I'm sorry I got mad at you."

Mina smiled, mollified. She turned on her side and went back to sleep. Sonic lay with his body curled up beside hers.

He didn't sleep. He lay with his eyes open for hours. Sunlight was beginning to inflame the horizon by the time he got up, tired of trying to close his eyes and rest as if everything was fine. He was very careful not to wake Mina.

Gently, he kissed her on the head. She sighed, but continued to sleep.

Sonic crept out of the room as carefully as he could. He shut the door, hoping Mina would at most roll over at the sound of the lock clicking into place. Down the hallway, he could hear Knuckles snoring. He tiptoed down the stairs and into the kitchen once again.

There in the corner of the room by the door, amongst other pairs of virtually ignored shoes, were Sonic's old sneakers.

He walked over and picked them up. They were still the same as ever before. Barely worn out in spite of all the running he had ever done. They were good, solid running shoes.

He put them on.


End file.
